CHANDRAKANT YESHWANT SAWANT Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Initially, 9 persons were chargesheeted for an offence of riot and causing grievous injuries and an attempt to commit murder with a common object of wrongful assembly under Crime No. 556/78 registered at Mulund Police Station on the night intervening 29th and 30th December, 1978. At the stage of framing charge, the learned Sessions Judge discharged two out of them and framed charge only against seven accused. After the trial in Sessions Case No. 345 of 1979 was over, the learned Sessions Judge by his order dated 28-1-1981 acquitted accused Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 of all the charges. He also acquitted accused Nos. 1, 6 and 7 of the charges under section 307 read with section 149 of the Indian Penal Code. However, he convicted accused Nos. 1, 6 and 7 for the offences under section 324 read with section 149 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to suffer R.I. for 18 months. He also convicted them for the offence under section 143 and sentenced them to suffer R.I. for three months. This judgments convicting accused Nos. 1, 6 and 7 as above was passed on 28th January, 1981 by Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay and it is the said order which is impugned by the present applicants original accused Nos. 1, 6 and 7.

(2.) Brief facts relating to the present proceedings may be narrated as follows : A small incident at about 11.00 in the night at the Check Post at Mulund on Bombay Agra Highway is the cause of assault leading to the Sessions trial. According to the prosecution, P.W. 4 Sadu Shetty is a person who carries on a business of pan shop and at night he also carries on the additional business of selling vada-pav on a hand card placed near his pan shop at the octroi check post at Mulund. He commences the business of sale of vada-pav only after about 10 or 10.30 p.m. In this additional business he is assisted by Navnit Shetty P.W. 6 and Shashi alias Arunkumar Shetty. One Raju Shetty P.W. 5 has a pan shop near the pan shop and hand cart of Sadhu Shetty P.W. 4. So also, one Shekhar Shetty has a pan shop at Mulund Check post and another Shekhar Shetty P.W. 11 is a driver by occupation and was at the scene of offence as a casual visitor. Thus all the witnesses and the injured are apparently from Karnataka and belonging to Shetty community.

(3.) On the night of 29th December, 1978 at about 11.00 p.m. initially, incident started. Some three persons came to the hand cart of Sadhu Shetty P.W. 4 and demanded vada-pav. They themselves picked up the vadas and started eating them. The vendor Sadhu Shetty P.W. 4 demanded payment. The three customers however, complained that the vada pav was of inferior quality and they would not pay the full price. There was a verbal dispute and one of the customers threw down a currency note of Rs. 50/- which fell on the stove of the vendor. The vendor immediately picked up the currency note. He returned the currency note and accepted one rupee note from the customer. However, three custsomers were annoyed and while leaving they abused the vendor and also threatened him that they will see him afterwards.