VIKRAMSINH SUKHSINH CHAUHAN Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE three Criminal Appeals arise out of the judgment and order delivered by learned Presiding Officer, Fast Track Court, Sabarkantha at Himatnagar ('learned trial Judge', for short) on dated 21.9.2005 in Atrocity Case No.13 of 2005. The appellants were original accused in the aforesaid case, they came to be convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 384, 392 read with Section 120B and Section 114 of Indian Penal Code ('IPC', for short) and for the offence punishable under Section 3(1)(10) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 ('Atrocities Act', for short) and each of them was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 3 years and fine of Rs.1000/ -, in default of payment of fine, simple imprisonment for 3 months for the offence punishable under Section 384 of the IPC and rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and fine of Rs.5000/ -, in default of payment of fine, rigorous imprisonment for 1 year for the offence punishable under Section 392 read with Sections 120B and 114 of the IPC and simple imprisonment for 2 years and fine of Rs.1000/ -, in default of payment of fine, simple imprisonment for 3 months for the offence punishable under Section 3(1)(10) of the Atrocities Act. The appellants - accused persons came to be acquitted for the offence punishable under Section 506(2) of the IPC. The sentence was ordered to run concurrently. Therefore, being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the order of conviction and sentence recorded by the learned trial Judge, the appellants preferred these Criminal Appeals.

(2.) THE prosecution case in nut -shell is as under: -

(3.) LEARNED trial Judge framed charge against all the three accused persons at Exh.2, to which the accused did not plead guilty and claimed to be tried. Therefore, the prosecution adduced its oral and documentary evidence. After the completion of the evidence, the learned trial Judge recorded further statements of the accused persons under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C and in their further statements, the accused denied generally all the charges levelled against them and stated that they were falsely implicated in this case.