OMANAKKUTTAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal preferred against the judgment of conviction and sentence made in S.C.No.20/2004 on the files of the Court of Additional Sessions Judge Adhoc No.I, Kottayam. The conviction is under Sections 324, 326, 308 read with Section 34 of IPC and sentence is to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 5 years each under Section 308 r/w Section 34 of IPC. Under Section 326 of IPC, the appellants were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and in default to undergo simple imprisonment for a further period of two years each.

(2.) The facts of the case is as follows :

(3.) When the appeal came up for hearing, the learned counsel for the appellants submitted that at the earliest point of time the names of the accused were stated by the injured as evident from Ext.P2. It can be seen that he was conscious and oriented. He stated only that persons who are identifiable by sight attacked him and thereby caused injury. The relevancy of this aspect is that the F.I.Statement was taken and the FIR was registered only at 7.30 p.m. and on the background of the earliest version, it is apparent that the injured will be getting time to think over to take a decision as to who all are to be implicated in the crime. In this case, as per the earliest version it was the case of the injured that 3 or 4 persons attacked. He was even sure about the number of the persons who attacked and on the background of this aspect it can be further seen that only one weapon of offence was seen seized and marked in this case. When there is only one weapon of offence and at the earliest point of time when the names of the appellants were stated to the Doctor on the ground that the attacked persons were only identifiable persons, the court identification by the injured may be having much evidential value, when there is no TI parade. Hence the appellants are entitled for acquittal on the ground of benefit of doubt.