SHIVAJI BHAGUJI BHOI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal filed under Section 374 of Cr.P.C. arises from the order of conviction and sentence passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge at Niphad on 27th January 2003 in Sessions Case No.19 of 2002, for the offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC. The appellant-accused has been sentenced to suffer life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.1000/- in default further RI for six months and set off under Section 428 of Cr.P.C. has also been granted.

(2.) As per the prosecution PW 6 Bhanudas Kacharu Salve working as labourer and resident of Dindori in Niphad taluka was smoking chilim (tobacco pipe) between 6.00 to 6.30 p.m. on 8/6/2002 in his house in the company of Shivaji Gangadhar Lahange (PW 5) and at that time Rohidas Pawar, resident of the same village and a friend also joined them. The accused reached the spot i.e. the rear side room of the house of PW 6 Bhanudas where all the three friends were smoking chilim and he stated that Rohidas Pawar had raped his wife and at that juncture he took out a knife from his pocket and gave one blow by the said knife to Rohidas on his upper part of the abdomen. Before the accused could give a second blow, Bhanudas - PW 6 tried to snatch the knife and in the process there was some scuffle between the two and both of them, accused as well as PW 6 Bhanudas, sustained injuries on their fingers. Rohidas was profusely bleeding and he was lifted by Shivaji (PW 5), Bhanudas (PW 6) and two others and taken to his house where his brother's wife PW 2 - Mira and her daughter Ujwala, aged about 16 years, were present. The njured Rohidas was placed on the ota (platform) outside his house and his wife Manda on that day was with her parents at Pimpalgaon. PW 2 Mirabai came to know that it was the accused who had caused stab injury to Rohidas and, therefore, she ran to the house of the accused and questioned him as to why he assaulted Rohidas, her brother-in-law. The accused stated that what he did was right and she would not understand. PW 1 Ankush Pawar, the brother of Rohidas returned at about 8.30 p.m. to his house and when he came to know about the incident, he started looking for a jeep for shifting Rohidas to the nearest hospital. Similar efforts were made by PW 2 Mirabai as well in the absence of her husband but it appears that the jeep was available after some time and Rohidas was taken to the Rural Hospital at Niphad in the jeep of PW 4 Vitthal Gangurde. On examination of Rohidas, the Medical Officer declared him dead. PW 1 Ankush filed a complaint which came to be registered as an FIR (Exhibit 14) at about 10.30 p.m. with Niphad police station on the same day i.e. on 8/6/2002. The accused had disappeared from the village and on the next day he visited the house of Eknath Pagare (PW 11) who in turn contacted PW 3 Laxman Mali, Police Patil. Intimation on phone was given to the police by the police patil and that is how the accused was taken in custody on 9/6/2002 by drawing the arrest panchanama (Exh.25) for which PW 8 Walmik Shinde was one of the witnesses. At that time he was wearing only underpant and banyan and, therefore, PW 11 was sent to bring his clothes from his house and they were made available to him by the said witness in the police station. PW 12 Shantaram Mahajan, the Police Inspector from Niphad Police Station undertook further investigation. The weapon i.e. the knife which was used in assaulting the deceased Rohidas was confiscated by PW 6 Bhanudas and kept in his dung pit and was made over to the I.O. during the course of investigation. The clothes of the deceased, knife and the clothes of the accused were sent for chemical analysis and the CA reports at Exhibits 10, 11 and 12 were received by the I.O. The dead body was sent for post-mortem and PW 10 Dr.Ramesh Walunj, the Medical Officer at the Rural Hospital, Niphad conducted the post-mortem which commenced at about 11.30 a.m. and was completed at 1 p.m. on 9/6/2002. The P.M. report at Exhibit 33 was filled in and signed by PW 10. The probable cause of death in the said report was "cardio respiratory failure due to haemorrhagic shock due to poly trauma to lung, liver and spleen due to stab injury". On completion of investigation the charge-sheet was filed and the case being triable by the Sessions Court, it was committed.

(3.) The prosecution examined in all 12 witnesses in support of its case and PW 5 Shivaji and PW 6 Bhanudas were claimed to be the eye witnesses to the incident. The defence claimed that the accused was innocent and was falsely implicated. The defence alleged that actually the deceased was assaulted by PW 5 and PW 6 and after causing him serious injuries they noticed that he was dead and in that condition only they shifted the dead body to the house of PW 1, the complainant at about 7 to 7.30 p.m. on 8/6/2002. When Ankush PW 1 returned to his house, he was aware that his brother Rohidas was already and, therefore, he did not take immediate steps to hire a jeep and shift him to the hospital. The defence further alleged that the complainant in connivance with PW 5 and PW 6 falsely implicated the accused.