ANWAR IBRAHIM ANSARI Vs. THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 6th February, 2014 delivered in Sessions Case No. 75 of 2013, whereby the appellant, who was the sole accused in the said case was convicted of an offence punishable under Section 398 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- with a default sentence. I have heard Ms. Joshi, the learned counsel for the appellant. I have heard Mr. Thakre, Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent/State. With their assistance, I have gone through the impugned judgment and the evidence adduced during the trial.

(2.) The prosecution case before the trial Court was that the First Informant Bhailal Patel was working in Shivam Om Rajeshri Lottery Center, Malad as a Manager. That, on 17/01/2013, he had as usual opened the lottery stall. At about 9.45 p.m., when he was counting the cash, two persons entered inside the stall. One of them, who is said to be the present appellant, took out a revolver and threatened Bhailal Patel, asking him to hand over the cash. Bhailal Patel, however, resisted, caught hold of the appellant and pushed him out of the shop. The other person, at that time, took out a knife from his pocket and rushed towards Bhailal Patel. When Bhailal Patel shouted, the persons working in the adjacent stalls rushed there. They caught hold of the appellant. The other accused, however, managed to escape after throwing away the knife. Two other persons - who, allegedly, were with the appellant and the said other person having knife, and were waiting outside the shop, also ran away. The police arrived. The appellant who had been apprehended by the First Informant and other witnesses was handed over to the police. The revolver, which he was having, was also seized. It was found containing five live cartridges. In the course of investigation the revolver and the cartridges were sent to the Ballistic Expert for the examination. The revolver was found to be in a working condition. The cartridges were live and found to be capable of being fired.

(3.) The prosecution examined six witnesses during the trial. The first witness was Bhailal Shanulal Patel the First Informant himself. One Riyaz Mohd. Shakib Shaikh the panch witness was examined as the second witness, while Ahmad Mohd. Shaikh, who claimed to have witnessed the incident, was the third witness. Ajay Atmaram Devkar, the police constable, who took the revolver and the live cartridges to the Forensic Science Laboratory, was examined as the fourth witness for the prosecution, while Aran Govind Chavan Assistant Police Inspector, who recorded the FIR was examined as the fifth witness. The sixth and the last witness was Dilip Shyamrao Yadav Police Inspector, the Investigating Officer.