ASHOK RAJARAM DESHMUKH Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY a judgment and order dated November 10, 1987 the learned Additional Session Judge, Thane in Session Case No. 157 of 1986, convicted the appellant accused for an offence of murder punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life which has been impugned in this appeal.

(2.) THE relevant facts giving rise to the appeal are as under: dattu Shankar Surose (P. W. 1) who is the complainant in this case has an agricultural field at village Dahivali in Ulhasnagar Taluka of Thane District. Deceased Shreeram Surose who was his cousin had a field on the western side of the field of the complainant. Between these two fields, there was a field belonging to Dattu Babaji Magar (P. W. 2 ). There is a rank to the western side and an canal from where that tank passes through the field of deceased Shreeram towards the field of complainant Dattu Surose.

(3.) ON February 21, 1983 deceased Shreeram was planting paddy crop in his field. There were eight to ten labourers working therein including Ashok Gajanan Surose (P. W. 3) and Janya Balya Wagh (P. W. 4 ). For the purpose of planting paddy crop, water was brought from the canal. Between 11. 00 a. m. to 12. 00 Noon on that day while the operation of paddy plantation was going on in the field of the deceased, the accused felt that the flow of the water going to the field of the complainant was blocked or diverted and, therefore, he questioned the deceased as to why had he done so. Deceased Shreeram tried to convince the accused that he had neither blocked nor diverted the water from the canal, the accused was unconvinced and exchange of abuses took place between both of them. They also caught hold of the shirts of one another and there was a scuffle. The accused than caught hold of the deceased and give him two to three blows with the result that the deceased fell down with his face towards the ground when the accused sat on his back and pushed his head into the mud. The prosecution witness 2,3 and 4 intervened and rescued the deceased. Thereafter they removed mud from his mouth, washed the face and tried to give him water which he could not take and fell dead.