BHIMSHA SUBANNA PAWAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants aggrieved by the Judgment and Order dated 29-5-1993 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Solapur in Sessions Case No. 271 of 1992 connected with Sessions Case No. 22 of 1993 convicting and sentencing them to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 2000/- each and in default of payment of fine to further undergo two years R. I. under section 302 read with section 149 I. P. C. ; to one years R. I. and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- in default to further undergo four months R. I. under section 323 read with section 149 I. P. C. ; to three years R. I. and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- each in default to undergo R. I. for 6 months each under section 148 I. P. C. ; and to two years R. I. and to pay a fine of Rs. 500 each in default of payment of fine, to further undergo 6 months R. I. under section 147 I. P. C. , the sentences to run concurrently, have come up in appeal before us.

(2.) THE prosecution case as emerging from the recitals contained in the FIR and the evidence of the ocular witnesses, runs as follows : the informant Saibabai Rajulal Pawar P. W. 5 was the wife of the deceased Rajulal Pawar. She along with the deceased, co-wife of the deceased and the children of the deceased lived in village Hotgi in Taluka South Solapur, within the limits of Police Station Valsang District Solapur. Their neighbour was appellant Bhimsha Subanna Pawar, Bhimshas brothers Namdeo Subanna Pawar, and Ashok Subanna Pawar were residing separately from him, though in the same village. The appellant Vishwanath Bahadur Chavan who is the cousin brother of appellant Bhimsha was also residing in village Hotgi. Appellants Menjya Mastan Chavan and Bhimya Menjya Chavan are father and son inter se. They are said to be relations of appellant Bhimsha Subanna Pawar and were also residing in village Hotgi. It is alleged that appellant Bhimsha Subanna Pawar and their brothers were thieves. They were bearing a grudge against the deceased because they had a feeling that he used to report about them to the police. It is said that some panchas tried to effect reconcilliation between appellant Bhimsha Subanna Pawar and others on one side and the deceased on the other. However, their efforts failed. On 21-5-1992, at about 7 a. m. the informant and the deceased had gone to Solapur by a city bus to see the formers mother who was ailing. After visiting her, the same day, at about 7. 30 p. m. they started back from Solapur to their village on a city bus. At about 8 to 8. 15 p. m. when the bus came near the Government School, and stopped on the bus stop situated there, the informant and the deceased got down from the aforesaid bus. After they had walked a distance of about 100 steps, suddenly from a ditch, the six appellants along with co-accused. A Basu, Subhash and Rangappa emerged from the aforesaid ditch. It is alleged that Bhimsha was armed with an iron bar, Namdeo with a hunter, Ashok Subanna Pawar, Basu and Subhash with sticks, Bhimya Menjya Chavan and Rangappa with axes. It is said that Vishwanath Bahadur Chavan and Menjya Mastan Chavan were not carrying any weapons. It is said that seeing the appellants and others, with their weapons, the deceased tried to run but, on the road passing in front of the canteen, of Bashir, he was overpowered by the appellants and others who thereafter, launched an assault on him with their respective weapons. On seeing the deceased being assaulted, the informant started shouting resulting in Menjya Mastan Chavan and Vishwanath Bahadur Chavan catching hold of her. Thereafter, Ashok is alleged to have assaulted her with a stick on right leg, left arm and back. It is also stated Vishwanath shouted and asked the appellants and others accused persons to kill the deceased because, he was informer of the police. After assaulting the deceased and the informant, the appellants and others are alleged to have run away. It is alleged that they were recognised in street light. Apart from the informant (wife of the deceased) this incident is alleged to have been seen by Bashir Tamboli P. W. 4, Jaganath Umaji Pawar P. W. 6, (brother of the deceased), Babu Umaji Pawar and Shantabai Pawar; the last two have not been examined by the prosecution.

(3.) AFTER the incident was over, the informant Saibabai and Jagannath, leaving the dead body on the place of the incident in care of their relatives came to Solapur on foot and from there straight away went to Police Station Valsang in a bus where the informant lodged her complaint (F. I. R.) at 1. 15 a. m. on 22-5-1992. It may be mentioned that Police Station Valsang is situated at a distance of about 30 kms. from the place of the incident, and the place of incident falls within its jurisdiction.