SAVJI MOTIBHAI VAGHRI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRESENT appeal arises out of judgment and order rendered by learned Sessions Judge, Surendranagar on 28.06.2000 in Sessions Case No.46 of 1999, convicting the appellant -accused for the offence of murder of Motibhai Reyabhai Vedva Vaghri punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('IPC' for short) and sentencing him to imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/ -, in default to further undergo simple imprisonment for two months. For offence under Section 135 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951 ('the B.P. Act' for short) the trial Court acquitted the appellant -accused. Original accused No.2 -Bachubhai Madhubhai Vedva Vaghri (A2) was acquitted by the trial Court of all the charges by the said judgment.

(2.) BRIEF facts giving rise to this appeal are that the incident has taken place at Village Chobari, Tal. Chotila, Dist. Surendranagar in the house of the deceased at around 21:30 hrs. on 11.04.1999. The appellant -accused, is the son of the deceased. That on the said day, after having his supper, while the deceased was sleeping on a cot in the compound of his house, the present appellant and A2 (since acquitted) entered the house and upon instigation by A2, who was armed with a stick, the appellant -accused assaulted the deceased with a dharia and gave a blow on his forehead and also inflicted blows on the other parts of the body of the deceased. That wife of the deceased, Rajuben Motibhai (PW -1), who was sleeping on the floor just beside the cot of the deceased, saw the accused inflicting blow with dharia on the forehead of the deceased. PW -1, therefore, raised shouts on seeing the occurrence, because of which daughters of the deceased as well as nephew (Vinubhai) and guest Jagubhai woke up and, therefore, both the accused ran away. That thereafter PW -1 and other family members took the deceased in a tempo to Civil Hospital, Chotila from where he was referred to Civil Hospital, Rajkot for further treatment and ultimately he was admitted to a private hospital known as Madhuram Hospital at Rajkot, where during treatment, on 12.04.2009 at about 23.50 hrs., the deceased succumbed to the injuries.

(3.) AN F.I.R. came to be lodged by PW -1 with Chotila Taluka Police Station and after full -fledged investigation charge -sheet was submitted before learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Chotila, who in turn, committed the case to the court of Sessions as the case was being exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions and the same was registered as Sessions Case No.46 of 1999.