STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. LALABHAI HEBABHAI CHAUHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment and order of acquittal dtd. 30/1/2020 passed by the learned 7 th Addl. Sessions Judge, Banaskantha @ Palanpur in Sessions Case No.27 of 2019, whereby the respondent accused came to be acquitted from the charge of offences under sec. 307 of IPC, the applicant - State of Gujarat has preferred this application to grant leave to appeal as provided under sec. 378(1)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ("the Code" for short) inter alia challenging the judgment and order of acquittal in favour of the respondent accused.

(2.) According to the prosecution case, on 12/7/2018, at about 21:00 hrs., at village Vagdadi, present respondent accused Lalabhai due to suspicious nature, got enraged and gave filthy abuses to the prosecution witness Kasnabhai and asked why did you come to the house of your widow maternal aunt and thereby, inflicted blow of stick with iron ring on the head of the prosecution witness kasnabhai as well as on the fact and ear and thereby, caused fatal injuries. Thus, the respondent accused has committed breach of notification issued by the District Magistrate under the Gujarat Police Act. Therefore, complainant Champaben Bumbadiya lodged the complaint with regard to the incident before Palanpur Taluka Police Station, which was registered as I - C.R. No.81/2018 for the offences under Sec. 307 , 323 , 294(b) of IPC and also u/s 135 of the G.P. Act. At the end of trial, the respondent accused came to be acquitted from the charges of offence u/s 307 of the IPC , but he came to be sentenced for 30 months for the offence u/s 325 of the IPC r/w sec. 135 of the G.P. Act.

(3.) In pursuance of the complaint lodged by the complainant, investigating agency recorded statements of the witnesses, collected relevant evidence in form of medical evidence and drawn various Panchnamas and other relevant evidence for the purpose of proving the offence. After having found material against the respondent accused, charge-sheet came to be filed in the Court of learned JMFC, Palanpur. As said Court lacks jurisdiction to try the offence, it committed the case to the Sessions Court, Palanpur as provided under sec. 209 of the Code.