SURYAJI RAMCHANDRA DESAI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals are filed by the original accused Nos. 5 and 1 respectively against the judgment delivered by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ratnagiri, convicting both of them for the offences punishable under section 302 and read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code for committing murder of one Dada alias Bhikusheth and under section 25(1)(a) read with section 3 of the Arms Act and sentencing them to suffer imprisonment for life and rigorous imprisonment for one year respectively. Original accused No. 1 Shankar has also been convicted, under section 404 of the Indian Penal Code for dishonestly misappropriating a gun which was in the possession of the deceased at the time of his death, and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years.

(2.) It is not necessary for the purposes of these appeals to enumerate all the facts in details, nor is it necessary to discuss all the evidence led by the prosecution, as in our opinion, most of the facts which are alleged by the prosecution and which are held to have been proved by the Additional Sessions Judge will not bring any of the offences home against any of the appellants. There is no dispute that the deceased Dada Wate died a homicidal death on or soon after Wednesday, 31st July, 1974 because of the gun show wounds that were detected on his dead body and that his dead body was found on Friday, 2nd August, 1974. The only point which needs determination is who had inflicted those injuries.

(3.) The deceased Dada alias Bhikuseth used to reside in his farm house away from his village Kolzar. On the farm house, a number of female labourers used to stay with him. It is alleged by the prosecution that he used to have illicit relations with some of the labourers or women staying with him. There were also three female residents with him having a common name "Saraswati". It is alleged that with every one of them, he had illicit connection. One of the Saraswatis has been examined as a witness.