STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. VAGHARI NARESHBHAI CHAMANBHAI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Feeling aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the judgment and order of acquittal dtd. 31/3/2010 passed by the learned Sessions Judge and Special Judge, Patan in Special (Atrocity) Case No.35 of 2008 for the offences punishable under Ss. 323, 504, 506(2), 114 and 135 of the Indian Penal Code and Sec. 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the appellant - State of Gujarat has preferred this appeal under Sec. 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Code").

(2.) The prosecution case as unfolded during the trial before the lower Court is that at about 18.00 hours on 27/2/2008, the complainant went near the S.T.bus stand at Siddhpur, where the accused were fighting and on his asking about why they are fighting, the accused no.1 got excited and started using filthy and abusive language and also hit the complainant with iron pipe on the chest and back and the other accused kicked the complainant and therefore caused injury to him; that the accused also started hurling abusive language about the caste of the complainant and threatened to kill him. Therefore, the complaint was lodged.

(3.) After investigation, sufficient prima facie evidence was found against the accused person/s and therefore chargesheet was filed in the competent criminal Court. Since the offence alleged against the accused person/s was exclusively triable by the Special Court, the learned Magistrate committed the case to the concerned Special Court where it came to be registered as Sessions Case (Atrocity) No.35 of 2008. The charge was framed against the accused person/s. The accused pleaded not guilty and came to be tried.