THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. MAHENDRA SHIVAJI GADEKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises from judgment dated 29.12.2006 whereby the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Satara, acquitted the respondents (hereinafter referred to as accused) in Sessions Case No.66 of 2002 of offences punishable under sections 143, 147, 148, 323, 324, 307, 504 and 506 r/w. 149 of the IPC.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in short is as under: The complainant -Mohan Sathe and the other injured persons are the residents of Durgalwadi. The accused no. 1 is alleged to have made some indecent comments on seeing the sister of PW5 Rajendra. The accused no. 1 had also called her to the house of one Vijay. PW5 had told the mother of the accused no.1 to persuade him not to interfere with his sister. Irked by this, on 18.11.1997 at about 8 to 8.15 p.m. the accused Nos.1 and 2 assaulted PW -5 Rajendra Chavan and Sambhaji Sathe. Again on 19.11.1997 at about 9 to 9.30 p.m. while PW -5 Rajendra and Sambhaji Sathe were having a wash in the paddy field, the accused Nos.1 and 5 assaulted them with a cycle chain and sticks. The accused No.3 Pandharinath Yadav, accused No.4 Shankar Yadav and accused No.5 Sambhaji Yadav and Manik (deceased) also came to the paddy field. PW5 -Rajendra Chavan and Sambhaji Sathe ran towards the house of Hanmant Desai. It is alleged that all the accused followed them and assaulted them with sticks, cycle chain, gupti, etc. On hearing their shouts PW4 -Mohan Sathe came to the place of the incident with a loaded gun. It is alleged that the accused Nos.3 Pandharinath Yadav and accused No.4 - Shankar Yadav assaulted PW -4 Mohan Sathe and as a result, he fell down with the gun. The accused No.4 -Shankar Yadav tried to snatch the gun from his hand and in the course of a scuffle, the gun discharged accidentally. The accused No.4 Shankar Yadav thereafter left the gun and all the other accused went away from the place of the incident.

(3.) PW4 -Mohan Sathe went to Rahimatpur police station and lodged the FIR at Exh.71 -A, pursuant to which PW9 -ASI Maruti Ghadhge, registered C.R. No.54 of 1997. The injured were referred to the civil hospital for medical examination. PW -3 Dr.Suresh Shinde examined the injured and issued injury certificate at Exhs.46 to 50. In the meantime, Having learnt about the incident from the police patil, PW7 - Ishwar Sutar, API at Rahimatpur police station, visited the scene of offence. He learnt that some of the injured persons were already taken to the hospital. He deputed some constables to guard the scene of offence and proceeded to the civil hospital at Satara. He recorded the FIR lodged by Sambhaji Yadav and registered C.R. No.55 of 1997 for offences punishable under sections 143, 147, 148, 302, 307, 326, r/w. 149 of the IPC and section 30 of the Indian Arms Act against PW4 -Mohan Sathe, PW5 -Rajendra Chavan, PW6 -Shivprasad Sathe and others. PW7 -Ishawar Sutar, API also took over the investigation of the present crime (C.R. No.54 of 1997) from PW9 - Maruti Ghadge, ASI. He conducted the scene of offence panchnama and recorded statements of some of the witnesses. He handed over further investigation to PW8 -Anil Sandobhor. Upon completion of the investigation, PW8 filed the charge -sheet against the aforesaid accused.