RAJARAM RAGHU PATIL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THREE accused persons including the present appellant, who was accused No. 1 in the Court below, were tried before the Additional Sessions Judge, Kolhapur, for an offence of murder of one Bapu Tukaram Patil, the charge against the three accused persons being that on or about 18-9-1955, in Shaha-pur village they and one Shankar Nalavade, 'since absconding, in furtherance of a common intention of all intentionally caused the death of Bapu Tukaram Patil of Kodoli and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 302 read with Section 34, Indian Penal Code. At the trial, the learned Judge acquitted Nos. 2 and 3, hut convicted accused No. 1 under section 326 read with section 34 and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years. Accused No. 1 now appeals from his conviction and the sentence imposed upon him.

(2.) THE order of conviction runs as follows:

(3.) ON this appeal by accused No. 1, what one has to consider is, therefore, the evidence furnished by the dying declarations and the confessional statement. Now, if the dying declarations require corroboration, surely they constitute a weak piece of evidence and if a confessional statement is retracted, one has to find corroboration before it is acted upon. The result is that both the dying declarations as well us the retracted confessional statement constitute such pieces of evidence that one piece of evidence cannot corroborate another. To find out corroboration, there must be some independent evidence.