PRAKASH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ACCUSED Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 in Sessions Case No. 25 of 2006 on the file of the Additional Sessions Court (Adhoc) Fast Track -I, Pathanamthitta are the appellants. They have been found guilty and convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 302 and 307, read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, hereinafter referred to as "the IPC" for short. For the offence punishable under section 143 of IPC, they were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 3 months each. They were also sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year each for the offence punishable under Section 148 of IPC. They were further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 3 years each for the offence punishable under Section 307 IPC. They were further sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs. 10000/ - each, in default of which to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year each, for of the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC.

(2.) THE case set up by the prosecution is as follows: -On account of previous enmity, the accused formed themselves into an unlawful assembly and in prosecution of their common object of committing the murder of PW5, on 21.2.2004 at about 8.30 p.m., they beat PW5 with firewood logs and in the course of the attack on PW5, one vikraman and PW4, who are his close relatives, intervened and then the accused caused injuries on them also with the firewood logs carried by them and among them, vikraman succumbed to the injuries sustained by him in the said occurrence.

(3.) ON appearance, the accused pleaded not guilty. Consequently, the prosecution was called upon to adduce evidence in support of its case. The prosecution, thereupon, examined 25 witnesses as PW1 to PW25 and marked 27 documents as Exts. P1 to P27. The prosecution has caused the identification of 10 material objects also.