KOLI ARJAN VIRA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two criminal appeals arise out of the judgment and order passed in Sessions Case No.43 of 1987 dated 19th September 1989 by the learned Sessions Judge, Amreli convicting accused no.1 Koli Arjan Vira, the appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 822 of 1989 for the offence punishable under section 302 of the IPC and sentencing him to suffer R.I.for life. The learned judge was pleased to acquit accused nos.2 and 3 (respondents no. 1 and 2 in Criminal Appeal No. 2 of 1990) for the offence punishable under section 302 read with section 34 of the IPC,however, convicting the accused no.2 Koli Sata Vira of the offences punishable under section 323 of the IPC and sentencing him to suffer R.I.for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000.00, in default, to undergo S.I. for three months. The learned judge convicted accused no.3 Koli Ravji Vira for the offence punishable under section 324 of the IPC and sentenced him to suffer R.I. for two years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1500.00, in default, to undergo S.I. for four months. The State of Gujarat, therefore,filed Criminal Appeal No. 2 of 1990 against the accused nos. 2 and 3 challenging the judgment and order of acquittal for offence punishable under section 302 read with section 34 of the IPC.

(2.) The incident in question happened in the early morning of 25.3.1987 between 6.00 and 7.00 a.m. in village Khambhala of Babra taluka when all the accused committed murder of Sattar Rahim and Ajij Haji Hussein by inflicting injuries with axe, stick and pipe. It is the prosecution case that two or three days prior to the date of the incident, the accused no.1 was arrested for committing offence under the Prohibition Act at the instance of deceased Sattar Rahim. All the accused, therefore, with a view to take revenge, came to the shop of the deceased Sattar Rahim and started giving abuses to him. The accused no.1 dragged the deceased Sattar Rahim from his shop and inflicted blunt portion of axe on his head while the accused nos. 2 and 3 also inflicted blows on the person of the deceased with stick as well as pipe. It is the further case of the prosecution that when neighbour Ajij Haji Hussein tried to intervene, the accused no.1 also caused injuries on his head by inflicting blows with the blunt portion of axe and subsequently the accused nos. 2 and 3 caused injuries with their respective weapons on the person of deceased Ajij Haji Hussein. Both the injured persons were thereafter taken to Babra Primary Health Centre where they were given primary treatment by the Medical Officer Dr. Shobhnaben Mehta, Ex. 64. Considering the seriousness of the injury on both the injured persons, Dr. Mehta referred them to Civil Hospital, Rajkot. Injured Sattar Rahim succumbed to the injury on the same evening while Ajij Haji succumbed to injury on the next day in the Civil Hospital.

(3.) The complainant Rafik, Ex. 51, son of the deceased Ajij Haji Hussein filed a complaint Ex. 52 at Babra Police Station. After registering the offence, PSI S.M. Patel started investigation and ultimately submitted chargesheet against the accused.