RASHID Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard. Rule. The rule is made returnable forthwith. Learned APP waives service for both the respondents. On the request of both the sides the matter is heard finally at the stage of admission.

(2.) The petitioners who are the accused in Sessions Case No. 38/2017 pending on the file of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Vaijapur, District Aurangabad, are challenging the order of rejection passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge on their application (Exhibit 26) seeking discharge, though styled as under section 239 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, instead of under section 227 of the Code of Criminal Procedure since it was a Sessions Case, for the offences punishable under section 307 , 353 , 323 , 188 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 132 read with Section 177 and 179 of the Motor Vehicles Act.

(3.) Shortly stated the prosecution case as can be gathered from the entire charge-sheet is to the effect that the informant who was then posted as Assistant Police Inspector at Gangapur Police Station, along with his staff were on patrolling duty pursuant to an order of the Assistant Election Officer, Gangapur, on 05.04.2014. One Gorakh Manal was also accompanying them as per the directions of the Tahsildar who was a Videographer, who was supposed to video-graph whenever the police party was supposed to open the boot and doors of the vehicles intercepted by them. They were also accompanied by one Dinesh Rajput who was the Awwal Karkoon and Special Executive Magistrate of Tahsil office Gangapur who was heading the team. Accordingly when they were intercepting vehicles in order to undertake search in the afternoon at about 2.30 p.m., a red Tata Safari vehicle bearing No. MH-20/BE-1001 was seen proceeding from Aurangabad towards Gangapur. The police party indicated the vehicle driver to stop it. But in dereliction to such direction the vehicle tried to run over the police party. The person who was sitting by the side of the driver and couple of persons sitting in back side seat were seen asking the driver to speed away. In the process the police personnel tried to dodge but Police Constable Dharkar fell on ground and sustained injury. Because of such movement of the vehicle the police party suspected that there must be something objectionable in the vehicle. The informant then telephonically informed the Police Station Gangapur giving description of the vehicle and informing that the vehicle had proceeded towards Gangapur.