VENKATESAN AND OTHERS Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellants are arrayed as A1, A2, A5, A6, A8 and A9, in the case in SC.No. 143/2009 on the file of the Court of the District and Sessions Judge, Tiruvannamalai. Originally, there were 22 accused and they were tried for offences under section 147, 148 and 302 read with 109 IPC. The Trial Court, under impugned Judgment dated 04.08.2017, acquitted A3, A4, A7, A10 to A22 and convicted and sentenced the appellants/A1, A2, A5, A6, A8 and A9 [hereinafter referred to as appellants/accused] as follows:- <FRM>JUDGEMENT_404_LAWS(MAD)2_2018_1.html</FRM> The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Aggrieved over the said conviction and sentences, the present appeal came to be filed by the appellants/accused.

(2.) The brief facts of the prosecution case, are as follows:-

(3.) The learned counsel for the appellants submitted that FIR in the instant case is an after-thought and the prosecution has explained the delay in filing the FIR. The evidence of the eyewitnesses to the occurrence, viz., P.Ws.1 to 5, is highly unnatural. It is his submission that P.W.1 could be an eyewitness to the occurrence as he was working as a Writer in the Post Office at Chennai and therefore, his presence at the scene on the date and time, is highly doubtful and impossible. Further, the medical evidence had clearly disproved the prosecution case and the injuries as spoken by P.Ws.1 to 5 does corroborate with the medical evidence and the same is also inconsistent. Hence, the learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the prosecution version is highly doubtful and unbelievable and prayed for acquittal of the appellants.