MANGAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) JUDGMENT impugned dated 23.10.2003 rendered by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Nainital convicts the appellant Mangal Singh under Section 147 and 332 IPC. Initially 17 accused persons were tried in Sessions Trial No. 25/1997 for the offences of Section 147, 148, 332, 333, 307, 149 IPC, but the trial culminated into the finding of conviction of the accused appellant Mangal Singh, as aforestated. All other accused persons were acquitted from all the charges.

(2.) INCIDENT , almost two and half decades old, occurred in the intervening night of 20/21.10.1988 at 11 AM within the territorial jurisdiction of PS Gadarpur, District Udham Singh Nagar. In Gadarpur town, there were the celebrations of Durga worship in the shape of a fair. So, huge crowd had assembled there which was hampering to the flowing traffic between Rudrapur and Kashipur main road via Gadarpur. PW1 and PW2 police constables were on their law and order duty in the fair when they noticed that on account of the crowd, flowing of the traffic was being affected. So, they asked the appellant as well as to many other persons to leave the road and take their seat inside the tent erected for such celebrations in front of the Durga Temple. Instead of acceding to the request of the constables, appellant became infuriated to the extent of quarrelling with them. He exhorted a number of persons to rebel the request of the police constables. The scene soon turned in an utter chaos and commotion and the crowd become totally unruly. All of them gave a massive beating to both the constables dragging them in the nearby paddy field making them severely injured. Mangal was playing the eminent role among all the assailants.

(3.) CONSTABLES were shifted to the local hospital by the Station Officer of Police Station Gadarpur and they were examined at 1.10. AM of the same night. Constable Vikram Singh was found having suffered as many as 18 injuries on his body. Among 18 injuries, 9 injuries are lacerated wounds and rest are abraded contusions and multiple abrasions. Similarly, on the medical examination of Constable Dev Nath (PW2), the doctor found five injuries on his body and all of them were the lacerated wounds of various sizes.