MAHADEO NARAYAN SAKHARE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants were tried in Sections Case No. 74/89, by the Sessions Judge, Osmanabad, for offences punishable under sections, 147, 148, 302 read with 149, 302 read with 34, 325 and 323 read with 149 of the Indian Penal Code. Under judgment and order dated 18th June, 1990, the learned Sessions Judge had found all the appellants guilty of offences under sections 147, 148, 302 read with 149, 325 read with 149, 323 read with 149 and 302 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code. For offences under section 302 read with 149 each of the appellant was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life. No separate sentences were awarded for rest of the offences.

(2.) DECEASED Vasant Zingare lived with his wife (P. W. 2) Prayagbai, son (P. W. 1) Chandrakant, two other sons Shahikant and Hemant and a daughter (P. W. 3) Sangita in his house at village Chivri, tq. Tuljapur. Shashikant used to drive an auto rickshaw formerly at Pune, but at about the time of the offence he used to drive an auto rickshaw at Sholapur. All the appellants are neighbours of the aforesaid family. Appellant Nos. 2 to 4 are the sons of appellant No. 1 Mahadeo and the husband of appellant No. 5 Trivenibai. All was not very well between the aforesaid families and about 8 or 9 months prior to the date of incident of the offence, there was some quarrel between Shashikant, son of the deceased and appellant No. 4 Rajendra at Pune. The hostility had assumed a different edge since the date of that quarrel. The incident in question is alleged to have taken place on 3rd of August, 1989 at about 9. 00 p. m. Shashikant, the son of the deceased, had come to Chiwri from Sholapur about a week before the incident of the offence. Appellant No. 4 Rajendra also had come to Chiwri about a month before the date of the incident. The deceased and his son Shashikant had gone for dinner to the house of a brother of the deceased and (P. W. 1) Chandrakant was listening to his tape-recorder in front of the grocery shop of one Shivanand Shankar Patil. One Gajendra Londhe came in hurry to (P. W. 1) Chandrakant to tell him that appellant No. 4 Rajendra and his groupmen had assaulted and beaten his younger brother Shashikant and that they were abusing deceased Vasant and his sons. On hearing so, (P. W. 1) Chandrakant rushed to the house of appellants. It is alleged that appellant No. 2 Kalyan, then, hit a stone on the head of (P. W. 1) Chandrakant. Some neighbours, who were following him, intervened and separated them. By that time (P. W. 3) Sangita had reported the incident to her father and her mother (P. W. 2) Prayagbai, who had just returned from a flour mill, came to know of the incident. They rushed towards the house of the appellants to see who had assaulted Chandrakant and Shashikant. It is alleged that on seeing deceased Vasant and (P. W. 2) Prayagbai arriving on the scene of the offence, appellant No. 1 Mahadeo and appellant No. 5 Trivenibai instigated their sons, appellant Nos. 2 to 4 to assault them saying that at least one of them must be finished on that day. Appellant No. 2 Kalyan, appellant No. 3 Maruti and appellant No. 4 Rajendra, who were armed with a stick, axe and a gupti, respectively had then assaulted deceased Vasant. Appellant No. 2 Kalyan is also said to have assaulted the deceased with a pick-axe on the head of the deceased. Deceased sustained bleeding injury and fell down. (P. W. 2) Prayagbai attempted to save him but in doing so she was caught hold of by appellant No. 5 Trivenibai and was fallen down. Appellant No. 5 Trivenibai is said to have given kicks and blows to Prayagbai. Appellant No. 4 Rajendra is said to have given a stick blow on the hand of Prayagbai, as a result of which she had sustained a fracture on her arm and had fallen down. Appellant No. 5 Trivenibai is also alleged to have hit a stone on the leg of deceased Vasant. Finding that deceased Vasant and his partymen were thus dealt with, the appellants are said to have ran aways from the place. The pick- axe was, however, left on the scene of the offence itself while running away, but other weapons were carried by the assailants with them. (P. W. 1) Chandrakant was then taken to the Police Station at Naldurg, where he had lodged his First Information Report (Exhibit 33) before Senior P. S. I. Jemes (P. W. 13 ). The entry was taken in the Station Diary at 11. 30 p. m. and the offence was registered at Crime No. 32/38 for the offences as stated at the out set.

(3.) P. S. I. Jemes, then, proceeded to the scene of offence and apprehended the appellants Nos. 1 to 5 under panchanamas Exhibits 60 to 63 and 58, respectively. Prosecution witnesses Prayagbai, Chandrakant and the appellants were simultaneously sent to the Medical Officer, Naldurg for medical examination in the next morning. Inquest on the dead body was made vide Exhibit 48 and the dead body was sent to Dr. Jarasand Wadne (P. W. 4) Medical Officer, Naldurg, for postmortem examination. Panchanamas of the scene of offence was drawn at Exhibit 49 and blood stained soil,sample soil three stones, pick-axe, etc. were seized from the scene of offence. The postmortem examination was conducted by Dr. Wadne between 11. 40 a. m. onwards and after recording the injuries on the person of the deceased, he had opined that the probable cause of death was shock due to cerebral laceration. Medical certificates about the injuries of the injured witnesses as well as injured accused persons were collected. While arresting the accused, blood stained clothes were seized from appellant No. 1 Mahadeo, appellant No. 2 Kalyan, appellant No. 3 Maruti, appellant No. 4 Rajendra and appellant No. 5 Trivenibai. Statements of witnesses were recorded in course of time and the items were seized on the scene of offence. The items seized from the person of the deceased and the items seized from the injured witnesses and the injured appellants were sent to the Chemical Analyser for the chemical examination. After receiving the reports, the appellants were charge-sheeted for the offences as stated at the out set before Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Tuljapur. In the course of time the case was committed to the Court of Sessions.