STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. MULUBHAI ARJANBHAI BHARVAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Appeal is preferred by the State under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the judgment and order delivered by Special Judge and Assistant Sessions Judge, Godhra, District Panchmahal, on 30th of March, 2005, in Special Case (Atrocity) No. 20 of 2004 whereby all the four respondents i.e. original accused came to be acquitted by the Trial Court for the offences punishable under Sections 325, 323, 504, 506(2), 114 of the Indian Penal Code as well as for the offences punishable under Section 3(1)(10) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

(2.) AS per the brief facts, the incident took place at about 5.00 p.m. at village Veganpur, Taluka Godhra. The First Information Report came to be filed by one Lilaben Khoparbhai Najrubhai at about 22.45 hours before Godhra Police Station and before PSO Bharatsinh Jesinghbhai, PW -5, as at that juncture, he was in -charge of the Police Station. According to the First Information Report filed by Lilaben, at about 5.00 p.m. , her husband Khoparbhai Najrubhai was doing agricultural work in the filed of her one maternal uncle, named as, Jama Bholiya Rathwa. At that time, all the four accused entered in the field with their cattle i.e. goats for grazing the said goats. Since already plucked crop was staked in the field, Khoparbhai Najrubhai prevented the accused from entering in the field along with goats. Therefore, the accused got provoked and started giving abuses to Khoparbhai Najrubhai. Out of the accused, accused No.1 Mulubhai Arjanbhai Bharvad came running with a stick and gave blows of said stick to Khoparbhai Najrubhai on his head, and on account of this injury, the skin was fractured. Accused No.1 Mulubhai Arjanbhai Bharvad also gave stick blows to Khoparbhai Najrubhai on hands and legs. In the meantime, mother of the complainant Lilaben, named as Manguben, came there and other accused gave stick blows on right hand thumb of Manguben. When complainant Lilaben and others shouted for help, the accused threatened them that if they were prevented from grazing their cattle, the complainant party would be done to death. Injured Khoparbhai Najrubhai was taken to Government Hospital at Godhra and took treatment. On FIR being registered, investigation was carried out by ASI Samarsinh and thereafter by Dy. S.P. Ashwin Gangaram Chauhan, and a charge sheet came to be filed against all the four accused in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate at Godhra, and the case was committed to the Court of Sessions as the same being Special Case. Vide Exhibits 3 to 6, a charge for the above said offences was framed by the Trial Court against all the four accused and each of them pleaded not guilty.

(3.) PROSECUTION examined in all seven witnesses. PW -1 Natwarsing Naarsing, is examined as a panch witness at Exh.8; PW -2 Arvindbhai Bhulabhai is examined at Exh. 11 as panch witness while PW -3 complainant Lilaben Khoparbhai is examined at Exh. 12 and PW -4 Khoparbhai Najrubhai is examined at Exh. 14 as injured and eye witnesses PSO Bharatsinh Jesing, who recorded the First Information Report, is examined as PW -5 at Exh. 16; Investigating Officer Dy. S.P. Ashwin Gangaram Chauhan is examined as PW -6 at Exh. 17 and Dr. Rameshchandra Kodarji Chauhan is examined as PW -7 at Exh. 20, who gave treatment to injured Khoparbhai Najrubhai. In addition to this, prosecution also produced on record documentary evidences.