KALPESHKUMAR LAGARBHAI JINJALA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANT original accused has challenged judgment dated 21.05.2010 rendered by the learned Sessions Judge, Navsari in Sessions Case No.89 of 2007. He was convicted for offence punishable under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code and sentenced to imprisonment for life.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated the prosecution version was that accused Kalpesh Jinjala was a student of an agriculture college at Navsari. He was residing in the college hostel. In the same hostel another senior costudent Kashyap Bhatt was also residing. Accused shared room No.211 with other inmates. Likewise, Kashyap Bhatt shared his room No.106 with other students. On 18.09.2007, Kashyap had gone to hostel mess for his evening meal at which time Kalpesh also came. Kalpesh was without his shirt. Kashyap pulled him up for such behaviour and instructed him to come after wearing a shirt. Kalpesh left the mess without finishing his meal. Later at night on the same day, at about 10:00 O'clock, the students of the hostel heard a commotion from room No.106. When they reached the room, it was initially locked from inside. When it was opened, they saw that Kashyap was lying on the cot bleeding. Kalpesh was standing in the corner of the room. A knife was lying on the floor. The students took injured Kashyap to the hospital. Kalpesh taking advantage of the confusion, escaped. Kashyap was operated. Initially, he seemed to be recovering. A few days later on, he developed septic and died on 23rd September 2007. Kalpesh was arrested by the police when he presented himself along with his father on 23rd September 2007. Initially, FIR was lodged for offence punishable under Section 326 of IPC. Upon death of Kashyap it was converted into one for offence under Section 302 IPC.

(3.) LARGE number of witnesses, who were present in the hostel when the incident took place have been examined. These witnesses include the other students, the care -taker of the hostel as well as other staff members. The depositions of these witnesses throw light on what happened in the mess on the day of the incident and what the witnesses saw in room No.106 upon hearing the shouts. The prosecution has also produced the medical evidence of two doctors. Dr. Pankaj Saxena, P.W.21, who carried out the postmortem and Dr. Nirav Chaudhary, P.W.22, who had treated Kashyap in his private hospital at Navsari. The prosecution had also relied on three dying declarations, those made to P.W.11, Dipen Kanubhai, a student, P.W.14, Yashesh R. Bhatt, father of the deceased and Mohanbhai Dahyabhai Tandel, P.W.20, the Executive Magistrate. In view of the eyewitness accounts and the dying declarations on record, it is simply not possible for the defence to get away from the accusation of Kalpesh having given knife blows to Kashyap in the night of 18th September 2007 inside the room No.106. It would therefore not be necessary to take detailed account of every witness examined by the prosecution. However, to be able to appreciate the genesis of the incident, the background leading to the injuries caused to the deceased and the nature of injuries, it would be necessary to briefly refer to some of the relevant witnesses.