JAVED SHAUKAT ALI QURESHI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Riots, resulting in serious injuries or even death, are of frequent occurrence in this State and cases relating to such riots require very careful handling. A large number of persons are generally involved and the evidence is often entirely of a partisan character. There is, moreover, great danger of innocent persons being implicated along with the guilty, owing to the tendency of the parties, in such cases, to try to implicate falsely, as many of their enemies, as they can. The parties generally give widely divergent versions of the riot and in such cases, the Police usually prosecute members of both the parties and place the divergent versions and the evidence in support before the Court. It is for the Court to ascertain, in such cases, as to which of the two versions is correct. Broadly speaking, in riot cases, the appreciation of evidence is mostly limited to the extent of role played by each rioter and not to the collateral effect of the incident since it is highly improbable to ascertain the individual role of every member of a rioting mob.

(2.) All these appeals arise out of the common judgment and order and involve common questions on law and facts, hence, they are decided by this common judgment.

(3.) Challenge in these appeals is to the judgment and order passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Court No. 9, Ahmedabad City in Sessions Cases No. 160/2005 and 161/2005 dated 17.03.2006 whereby, original accused No. 1 to 6 & 13 were convicted for the offences punishable u/s. 396, 395, 307, 435 & 201 r/w. Sec. 149 IPC and were imposed sentence as under;