RAMLAL DEVAPPA RATHOD Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed by the appellants, original accused nos. 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 12, 29 and 30 challenging their conviction and sentence in Sessions Case No. 134 of 2000 vide judgment and order dated 6th October, 2001 passed by the Second Additional Sessions Judge, Solapur.

(2.) The appellants-accused came to be tried with other 26 accused persons on a charge of having committed offences punishable under Section 147, 148, 302, 307, 326, 324, 395, 427, 436, 435, 452 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code. In nutshell it was the prosecution s case that the accused and the victims are the residents of Sevalal Nagar, Tal. North Solapur. The deceased Tanaji Pandurang Rathod and his relatives were the trustees of Durgamata Temple in the village and were also the members of one Sahakari Krushi Society which has received 44 acres of agricultural land from the Government. There were various litigations, civil and criminal, going on between Tanaji Pandurang Rathod, his family members and associates on one part and the villagers of the said Sevalal Nagar who belonged to "Laman" (Nomadic tribe community).

(3.) According to the prosecution, on 30.4.2000 between 5.50 a.m. to 6.00 a.m. the accused persons who were armed with deadly weapons like choppers, satturs, axes, swords, iron rods and stones along with other villagers and absconding accused Laxman Rathod and Babu Rathod formed an unlawful assembly whose object was to commit murder of Tanaji Pandurang Rathod and his relatives and in furtherance of their common object, they committed murder of Tanaji Rathod and caused injuries to his relatives i.e. Prithwiraj Rathod (PW-6), Bharat Rathod, Arjun Rathod and Hari Hemla Rathod with such intention and knowledge and under such circumstances that as a result of the assault with deadly weapons they would have caused the death of the said Prithwiraj Rathod (PW-6), Bharat Rathod, Arjun Rathod and Hari Hemla Rathod and would have been guilty of murder. It is also the prosecution case that the accused persons and their associates were not only satisfied with committing murder of deceased Tanaji, causing injuries to his relatives but they also destroyed their houses and the premiss housing the office of Sevalal Co-operative Agricultural Society Limited by setting the same on fire and caused damage to the record and in furtherance of their common object they committed trespass in the house of Maruti Hemla Rathod, Jaysing Rathod, Laxman Rathod, Shivaji Rathod, Hemla Rathod, Tanaji Pandurang Rathod and his brothers when the deceased Tanaji tried to take shelter and assaulted him with deadly weapons.