RATAN VIDA SUDE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants aggrieved by the Judgment and order dated 1-1-1990, passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Dhule, in Sessions Case No. 149 of 1989, convicting and sentencing them to undergo 3 years RI for an offence under section 304 I. P. C. , have come up in appeal before me.

(2.) IN short, the prosecution case is that both the appellants are closely related inasmuch as their wives are real sisters. Two to three days prior to the incident, there was religious ceremony at the house of father of the informant Kantibai P. W. 2 in village Jhamb, District Dhule. In this ceremony, the appellant Mala also participated and thereafter took lunch at about 12 noon and slept. Kantibais husband, the deceased Badhu on seeing Mala sleeping in Kantibais fathers house, suspected her fidelity and told Mala not to visit either his father-in-laws house or his house. On 24-5-1989, at about 9 p. m. the deceased Bhadu, his brother Laxman, his wife Kantibai and aunt Savitri were sitting on the ota of their house situate in village Jhamb, Taluka Shahada, District Dhule. The appellants came there. Badhu told the appellant Mala not to visit the house of his father-in-law. Thereafter, a scuffle took place between Badhu and the appellants. The appellant Ratan snatched a wooden stick from Badhu and inflicted a blow on Badhus head. The appellant Mala went inside the house of Khurshya and brought a stick (Article No. 6) and gave one blow with it on the head of Badhu. Thereafter, the appellants run away. It is said that Kantibai and others offered water to Badhu but, he died instantaneously.

(3.) FROM the evidence of P. S. I. Suresh Kulkarni, it transpires that next day, i. e. on 25-5-1989, Police Patil of village Jhamb, came and gave a report Exhibit 34 about Badhus death. On that report, P. S. I. Kulkarni went to village Jhamb and recorded the statement of Kantibai P. W. 2, which has been treated as the F. I. R. (Exhibit 25 ). The investigation of the case was conducted by P. S. I. Kulkarni. On 25-5-1989, he performed the inquest panchanama of the corpse and prepared the panchanama of the scene of offence. The same day, he arrested the appellants and seized their clothes. Both the appellants produced the sticks used, during the course of the incident. The said sticks, Articles 5 and 6 were seized. He also interrogated the witnesses. After completion of the investigation, the appellants were charge-sheeted by P. S. I. Kulkarni.