AMBADAS VIHWANATH DHADKE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SESSIONS Case No. 72/1983 was tried by the learned Sessions Judge at Osmanabad and in addition to the present appellant (accused No. 1), four others were tried i. e. Bhanudas, Raju, Sakharbai and Vishwanath. By his judgment and other dated 21-11-1985, the learned sessions Judge acquitted accused Nos. 2 to 4 from the offences they were charged with and accused No. 1 Ambadas came to be convicted for an offence punishable under section 302 of I. P. C. and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life. Hence, this appeal by the appellant-accused No. 1.

(2.) AS per the prosecution story, there was a civil dispute pending between the deceased and his brother on one hand and the accused No. 5 on the other hand and an injunction order was passed in favour of the deceased. The deceased had served that order on the accused No. 5 and the injunction order was in respect of the land located in village Savargaon. The accused Nos. 1 and 3 are the brothers inter se and the sons of accused Nos. 4 and 5. Accused No. 2 is the cousin of accused Nos. 1 and 3. The deceased Devidas was the brother of accused No. 4 Sakharbai. The land in dispute was purchased by the father of the deceased from the father of accused No. 5 and the mother of the deceased was the sister of the father of accused No. 4. After about 15 days of the injunction order having been served on the accused party, the deceased devidas, who was residing in village Surdi in Taluka Barshi, District Solapur, had come to village Savargaon in Tuljapur Taluka of Osmanabad District on sunday the 24th July, 1983 and on following Wednesday i. e. on 27th July, 1983 P. W. 1 Kerabai received a message that her husband was dead in village savargaon. She, therefore, went to village Savargaon alongwith her daughter chhya and nephew (husband's brother's son) P. W. 6 Ashok, who was a practising lawyer and was on a short visit to his village Surdi. They filed a complaint with the Police Patil (Exh. 12) and the Police Patil P. W. 2 Shankarrao in turn forwarded the said complaint alongwith the report at Exhibit 14 to the police Sub-Inspector at Tuljapur on 27-7-1983 itself. P. W. 9 Venkoji registered Crime No. 114/1983 as in-charge of the Police Station on 27-7-1983. On the next day, the Police reached the spot and carried out inquest panchanama (Exh. 22) and spot panchanama at Exhibit 23. The dead body was sent for post mortem through P. W. 3 Police Constable Darade to the primary Health Centre, Savargaon on 28-7-1983 and P. W. 4 Dr. Khandu narwade conducted the post mortem and signed the post mortem notes at exhibit 17. The dead body was handed over to the complainant and the clothes on the person of the deceased were seized under panchanama at Exhibit 24 on 28-7-1983. The investigation was taken over by P. W. 10 Jayant Deshpande, who was the P. S. I, at Tuljapur Police Station on the date of the incident and on completion of the investigation, he submitted the charge-sheet.

(3.) ADMITTEDLY, there is no eye-witness to the incident and the prosecution case is based on medical evidence and the circumstantial evidence. The clothes of the deceased were sent for chemical analysis as per forwarding letter at Exhibit 27 and the chemical analyser's report was received at Exhibit. 28. As per the said report, the torn white colour full shirt seized from the person of the deceased, was detected to have the traces of organo chloro insecticide "endrin".