RANCHHODBHAI BALABHAI BARIA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL these three appeals arise from the selfsame judgment of learned Special Judge, Narmad Mukam at Rajpipla in sessions Case No.10 of 2007, whereby the appellants of Criminal Appeal No.406 of 2009 and Criminal Appeal No.853 of 2009 are convicted under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code [for short "the I.P. Code"] and are directed to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/each, in default, further imprisonment for one year, while the Criminal Appeal No.785 of 2009 is directed against the acquittal of remaining accused persons of all the charges levelled against them and the abovesaid appellants against their acquittal under Section 3(2)(5) of the Atrocity Act.

(2.) THE short matrix of the prosecution case are that on 04.07.2009 at about 9:00 pm., the deceasedJagdishbhai was passing by the S.T. bus stand of village Tankari at that time the convicted appellants and the acquitted respondents were grazing cattle in the middle of the road, whereupon the deceasedJagdishbhai asked them to graze their cattle on the side of the road. This provoked the accused persons and they attacked the deceased with axe and pipe and caused injury on the head of the deceased. The deceased succumbed to the injuries during the course of the treatment. A complaint in respect of this incident came to be lodged by Dinalben Jagdishbhai Tadvi, daughter of the deceased with Rajpipla Police Station. In pursuance of this complaint, FIR vide Rajpipla Police Station ICR No.147 of 2007 came to be registered.

(3.) INITIALLY after the investigation, charge sheet vide Exhibit8, was filed only against Kantibhai Mangabhai Bariya, appellant of Criminal Appeal No.853 of 2009. During the course of the trial the names of other accused persons were disclosed in the deposition of the witnesses, therefore, Exhibit29 application for indictment of other accused persons came to be submitted by the learned Public Prosecutor, which came to be allowed. Thereafter, on 06.10.2008 charge vide Exhibit61 came to be framed against rest of the seven accused persons.