STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. BHALCHANDRA NEMGONDA CHOUGULE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ). The appellant-State has assailed the judgment and order dated 2 8/04/1987 rendered by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, in Sessions Case no. 35 of 1986, by which the respondents-accused have been acquitted of the offences punishable under ss. 302, 201, 177, 182 of the Indian Penal ' Code and under ss. 25 and 27 of the Indian Arms Act. Respondent accused no. 1 was charged and tried for the said offences on the allegation that on 24/01/1986 between 10. 30 and 11. 30 a. m. at village Padali he committed murder of one Shamrao Maruti Maidankar by firing gun shot. In so far as respondent-accused No. 2 is concerned he was charged for the offences punishable under ss. 201, 177 and 182 of the I. P. C. on the allegation that he having reason to believe that the murder of deceased shamrao was committed by accused No. 1 caused to disappear some evidence of commission of offence of murder, namely, the pistol used in commission of the offence and blood stained clothes of accused No. 1 with an intention of screening him from legal punishment. For the sake of brevity hereinafter the respondents shall be referred to as "accused".

(2.) THE case of the prosecution stated briefly is that the deceased shamrao had constructed R. C. C. building in village Padali. About a year prior to his death, he had shifted from village Padali to Tasgaon and was residing there along with his family. Deceased Shamrao intermittently used to visit village Padali to look after his grape garden. Accused No. 1 was resident of village Padali and used to reside in the building, constructed by deceased Shamrao, with his wife and children. Accused No. 1 and deceased shamrao were good friends. Whenever deceased Shamrao used to visit village Padali he would stay with accused No. 1 in his house. The eldest daughter of accused No. 1, who was studying in the High School at Tasgaon, used to stay with the family of deceased Shamrao. It is alleged that the illicit relations were developed between Shamrao and the wife of accused No. 1. On 22/01/1986 at about 11 p. m. deceased Shamrao came to Padali in taxi since he had to go to village Patil. On 23. 1. 1986 accused No. 2 and deceased Shamrao in the night left Padali for village Pali in taxi. On their way to Pali, they came to Vita and met P. W. 10 Anna Sathe, a close friend of deceased Shamrao. They stayed overnight in the house of Anna Sathe and in the morning accused No. 2 along with the family members of P. W. 10 went to Pali in a taxi whereas deceased Shamrao and P. W. 10 Anna Sathe went to Pali on the motor-cycle of Anna Sathe. In the night, deceased shamrao and accused No. 2 left Pali for Padali on the motor-cycle. Shamrao stayed in the house of accused No. 1 that night. It is the case of the prosecution that on 24/01/1986 accused No. 1, who was not at home earlier had come back from Tasgaon to his house at Padali. Accused no. 1 enquired with P. W. 3 Shantabai the whereabouts of deceased shamrao when she disclosed that he had gone to grape garden. P. W. 3 shantabai supplied milk to accused No. 1 and went away. It is alleged that shamrao left from grape garden for home around 9. 30, who apparently did not reach home, before accused No. 1 reached his home at 10 a. m. It appears that P. W. 2 Bhimrao also came back for filling petrol in the motorcycle of accused No. 2 from the store-room of his house. P. W. 3 at the relevant time was in the cattle-shed which was at close distance from the house of the accused. It is alleged that when she was in the cattle shed, she heard cries coming from the house of accused No. 1. She, therefore, rushed to the house of the accused and noticed the dead body of Shamrao lying in the pool of blood and accused No. 1 alone was in the house near the dead body and was weeping and crying intensively. Crowd gathered near the house of accused. Accused No. 2 reported the incident in writing to the PSI tasgaon through P. W. 13 Mulani. On receipt of the report, P. S. I. Subhash patil along with the police staff reached village Padali. A complaint was lodged by P. W. 2 Bhimrao pursuant to which the crime was registered against accused Nos. 1 and 2. Investigation was set in motion and on completion of the same the charge-sheet was filed against the accused on 27/03/1986 for the offences punishable under ss. 302, 201, 182 read with 34 of the I. P. C. and under s. 3 read with ss. 25 and 27 of the Indian arms Act. The charge was framed against the accused for the aforestated offences. The accused entered the plead of not guilty and claimed to be tried. The defence propounded by the accused was of total denial.

(3.) THE learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Sangli, on appreciation of the depositions of witnesses and the exhibits placed on record by the prosecution, has acquitted the accused of all the charges by the impugned judgment.