MADHUKAR AWADHUTROA TAIDE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Criminal Appeal at the instance of the appellants. The appellant Nos. 1, 2 and 4, i. e. Madhukar, Prakash and Damodhar are convicted for an offence under Section 323 while accused/appellant No. 3 Anil is convicted for an offence under Section 326 of the Indian Penal Code. All were originally tried for offence under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code for having committed murder of one Punjab Kachru Mahajan.

(2.) THE prosecution story shortly stated is as under : That on the fateful day, i. e. on 26-11-1988 at about 8 p. m. at Benoda locality Panjabrao Kachruji Mahajan came to the shop of the accused No. 1 Madhukar and asked for some kerosene. Since Madhukar refused to give him kerosene, there was an altercation between Madhukar and Panjabrao. In, the meantime, the other three accused persons came there, out of whom appellant No. 1 was armed with stick. The four accused persons dealt with the said Panjabrao very severely inasmuch as the accused No. 3 dealt him the several stick blows while the other three assaulted him with kicks and fists. Panjabrao is said to have died instantaneously on the spot. One witness P. W. 2 Gajanan is said to have seen the incident and, therefore, went to the wife of Panjabrao by name Asha who is examined as P. W. 1 and reported the matter. Asha on the basis of this information went to the spot and found that her husband was lying unconscious near the shop. There-fore, she went to the relatives Ananda and Bapurao but since they were not present, she went to the police station and lodged First Information Report Exh. 27. On the basis of this report, the police sprang into action and started the investigation. P. S. I. Bhaurao Dhaode P. W. 7 then went on the spot after taking an entry in the station diary and registered the offence. He saw that Panjabrao was lying in front of the shop of Madhukar and he was already dead. He, therefore, conducted the further investigation in which there is a discovery by accused No. 2 Prakash of the stick. The stick was discovered in pursuance of the memorandum panchnama Exh. 31. He also recorded the statements of the witnesses like Asha, Gajanan who had seen this incident and one other witness Pramod Pandhare P. W. 6. However, P. W. 6 Pramod turned hostile at the time of the trial.

(3.) THE defence of the accused persons was that of denial. They denied that they had any altercation with the deceased Panjabrao. They also denied that they or any of them had assaulted Panjabrao with sticks and the kicks and fists.