STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. SHANABHAI VIRABHAI DAMOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-State of Gujarat has preferred the present appeal under Section 378 of Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 against the judgment and order of acquittal dated 29.6.1995 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Panchmahal at Godhra in Sessions Case No.73 of 1994.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that on 26.3.1994 at about 5 p.m., the complainant - Rameshkumar Bhimsinh resident of Village: Parvadi, Taluka: Godhra and his father Bhimsinh (deceased) went to the house of Aaratsinh at Village-Kotada and after taking dinner there, in the night, the deceased went for a walk nearby shop at about 8.00 p.m. After sometime, upon hearing commotion, Ramesh came out and he went in the direction in which his father had gone. As per the case of the prosecution, Ramesh had seen that on the way near hand pump, his father Bhimsinh was being beaten by the accused persons, viz. Shana Vira, Kanu Shana, Rangit Shana and Raman Shana. It is alleged that accused Kanu Shana inflicted axe blow on the head of the deceased, accused Raman Shana inflicted dharia blow on the leg of the deceased, accused Shana Vira and Rangit Shana used abusive language and had also beaten the deceased with stick and the deceased had fallen down. Thereafter, all the accused got caught hold the deceased and had taken him on the road leading towards Godhra. As per the prosecution case, the complainant thought that the accused were taking the deceased to the hospital and also out of fear of being beaten by the accused, the complainant did not go with the deceased and had hidden himself behind the tree and slept there. On the next day, in the early morning, the complainant went to his house and narrated the incident to his elder brother, viz. Kiran and Kiran disbelieved the story of the complainant, however, after sometime, he came to know that a dead body is lying on the railway line. Therefore, Ramesh, Kiran and their uncle Shana Bhodu and Sarpanch Bhalsing went to the railway line and found that the dead body of the deceased was lying in bleeding condition and police had also reached there. The police handed over the dead body of the deceased to the relatives after completion of postmortem of the deceased.

(3.) After completion of after-death ceremony of the deceased, the complainant filed the complaint being C.R.No.I34/2012 for the offence punishable under sections 302, 504, 201 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 135 of the Bombay Police Act.