STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. POPATBHAI MANILAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This acquittal appeal has been preferred by the appellant State under Section 378[1][3] of the Code of Criminal Procedure ["Code" for short] against the judgment and order of acquittal dated 7th August, 2000 passed by the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Court No.1, Ahmedabad City in Sessions Case No. 274 of 1999 by which, the learned Sessions Judge acquitted all the respondents for the offence punishable under Sections 302 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code ["IPC" for short] and in the alternative under Section 302 read with Section 114 of IPC as well as Section 324 read with Section 114 of IPC and Section 135[1] of the Bombay Police Act.

(2.) It is pertinent to note that the Appeal filed by the State was heard by the Division Bench of this Court and the Division Bench upheld the order of acquittal against all the respondents passed by the Sessions Judge, Court No.1, City Civil Court, Ahmedabad City in Sessions Case No. 274 of 1999. The complainant being aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment and order passed by the High Court preferred Criminal Appeal No. 429 of 2002 before the Apex Court. The Apex Court, vide judgment and order dated 31st July, 2009 remanded the case to the High Court for reconsidering the same and therefore, the Appeal is placed before this Court for hearing.

(3.) On 18.6.1999, at around 9.00 p.m., deceased Arunbhai was sleeping on a cot on the Otla [extended balcony] of the house after the supper. Respondent no.1 Popatbhai Manilal was walking past him when the leg of the deceased which was dangling from the cot, touched him. At this, respondent no.1 started abusing deceased Arun to which the deceased protested and a scuffle ensued and in the process, they reached the entrance of the Chawl. The complainant who was inside the house heard the noise and came out to see that the deceased and respondent no.1 were quarreling. So, she told her son deceased not to quarrel and took him inside the house and the respondent no.1 went to his house. After sometime, all the three respondents who were armed with weapons came to the place of occurrence. Respondent no.1 was having Gupti in his hand, respondent no.2 was having pipe in his hand, while respondent no.3 was having Dhoka [wooden log used for washing clothes] in his hand. At that time, deceased Arun was standing along with his sister Meghna and respondent no.1 caught hold of her. Deceased Arun told him to let his sister go as the quarrel was between him and the respondent no.1. At the material point of time, respondent no.1 hit the deceased with Gupti on the chest and then on stomach; respondent no.2 hit the deceased on the chest with pipe, while the respondent no.3 hit the deceased with Dhoka. Deceased, thus, received several blows all over the body. Vijaykumar-nephew of the deceased, who was living with them, came to the scene of offence and tried to intervene, but he was also hit on the head by respondent no.2 with pipe. The deceased fell down on the ground in front of his house and thereupon, all the respondents ran away from the scene of offence. The deceased was taken to the hospital by Champaben, her husband's sister Dadamben and her nephew Vijay, where deceased was examined and subsequently he succumbed to the injuries. Post-mortem was carried out. Police came to the house of the complainant and thereafter, complaint was recorded by Police Inspector Pratapsinh Udesinh Ravol of Meghaninagar police station on 19.6.1999. Thereafter, complaint and the report prepared under Section 157 of the Code were sent to the police station to register the offence. Statements of witnesses were recorded and blood sample of the deceased was obtained and seized by the Police Constable Maheshbhai Maganbhai under the panchnama and was then sent to the police station. Seizure panchnama of clothes was also prepared. As the police felt that there was enough evidence against all the respondents, all the three respondents were arrested on 20.6.1999 and interrogated. After the arrest of the respondents, at the behest of respondent no.2, police found weapons involved in the offence which were hidden in the malia [loft] and panchnama in respect thereof was prepared. Weapons and clothes were thereafter sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory ["FSL" for short] on 22.6.1999 for detailed analysis. Respondents were charged with the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC and in the alternative under Section 302 read with Section 114 of IPC. In addition, respondent no.2 Vijay was also charged for the offence punishable under Section 324 of IPC, while rest were charged for the same offence punishable under Section 114 of IPC. Respondents were also charged for the offence punishable under Section 135 of Bombay Police Act, 1951. Prosecution adduced oral depositions as well as documentary evidence in order to bring home the guilt against the respondents. However, at the conclusion of the trial, all the accused were acquitted by the Sessions Judge vide judgment and order dated 7.8.2000. Being aggrieved with the same, the State preferred Appeal against the order of the learned Sessions Judge and Division Bench of this Court confirmed the said judgment. The complainant, being aggrieved with the judgment and order of the High Court preferred an Appeal before the Apex Court and the Apex Court, as stated herein above, remanded the matter back to this Court for reconsideration of the case.