RATAN DHANSING PAWAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant aggrieved by the Judgment and order dated 7-9-1994 passed by the II Additional Sessions Judge, Solapur, in Sessions Case No.307 of 1993 convicting and sentencing him to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- in default to suffer two years R. I. for an offence punishable under section 302 IPC, has come up in appeal before us.

(2.) IN short, the prosecution case runs as under :- The deceased Dhansing had two wives namely Dhamabai and Sakhubai PW 3 the informant. From Dhamabai, he had three issues including the appellant Ratan. The appellant was married and had a son named Pandit. The deceased had 26 acres of land out of which, he transferred 14 to the appellant and 7 to Pandit. He retained 5 acres in his name. The said 5 acres were being cultivated by the appellant and he was not giving the crops grown on it to the deceased and the complainant. Consequently, the complainant took possession of the said 5 acres of land and this resulted in the appellant bearing ill-will against her and the deceased. About 8 days prior to the incident, the complainant visited this land. The appellant came there abused her and restrained her from harvesting the crop. He asked her to come out from the land and not to come to it in future. The complainant reported the matter to the police Patil Kalyanrao Patil PW 10 who called the appellant and the deceased. On the date of the incident (15-10-93) sunflower crops were standing in the said land of 5 acres. At about 3 p. m. the deceased and the informant went to see whether it was fit for harvesting. At that time, the appellant who was hiding behind the sunflower crop, got incensed on seeing the deceased and the complainant. He had a sickle in his hand and asked the complainant as to why she had come in the field. He pulled her hair. The deceased asked the appellant not to assault the complainant who managed to escape from the clutches of the appellant. The appellant however, apprehended the deceased and started inflicting blows with the sickle on diverse parts of his body. The Complainant first went to village Musti in search of the Police Patil but, on not finding him, came back to the place of the incident where she saw the deceased lying in a dead condition.

(3.) THE autopsy on the dead body of the deceased was conducted on 16-10-93 by Dr. Vijaykumar Bet PW 9 who found on it 12 ante-mortem injuries, their break - up being as under :- " 6 incised wounds, two contusions and four abrasions. " It is pertinent to mention that all the incised wounds were situated on head and beneath the second incised wound, the doctor found depressed fracture of frontal bone. On internal examination, he also found some other internal damage like fracture of maxilla on left side. In the opinion of Dr. Bet, the deceased died on account of ante-mortem injuries and ante-mortem injury no. 2 (incised wound on head) which was separately sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. He also opined that the injuries of the deceased could be caused by the sickle shown to him.