RAJABABU BUCHAYYA ADLURI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants have challenged their conviction and sentence passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Chandrapur, vide judgment and order dated 18/3/1997, under which the appellant Chakrapani, Ashok, Wasudeo and Babu alias Prabhakar came to be convicted for having committed offences under Section 395 read with Section 398 I. P. C. and were sentenced to suffer R. I. for 7 years and to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/- in default to suffer R. I. for one year. Appellant Rajababu and Mallesh came to be convicted for having committed an offence punishable under Section 411 of I. P. C. and were sentenced to suffer R. I. for two years each. THEy came to be acquitted of the charge under Section 395 read with Section 398 I. P. C. One of the co-accused in the case namely Laxman was acquitted of all the charges.

(2.) APPELLANTS Rajababu s/o Buchayya Adluri and Mallesh s/o Ankush Gundetti have filed Criminal Appeal No. 102 of 1997, appellant Wasudeo s/o Vyankuji Kohapare, has filed Criminal Appeal No. 144 of 1997, appellant Chakrapani s/o Laxman Siddhala has filed Criminal Appeal No. 165 of 1997 and appellants Ashok s/o Bhumayya Kudali and Babu alias Prabhakar s/o Rajyellayya Buka have filed Criminal Appeal No. 194 of 1997, to challenge their conviction and sentences. All these appeals can be conveniently disposed of by this common judgment.

(3.) IT so happened that the Police arrested the original accused nos. 1 to 5 namely Chakrapani, Rajababu, Ashok, Laxman and Mallesh, and in the course of their interrogation, the Police came to know that these persons along with three others, have committed dacoity at the house of Vyankati in the night of 4/8/1994. Immediately after the arrest of the appellants accused, when the Police made enquiries from Vyankati and his family members, Vyankati lodged a report of the incident of dacoity. The suspects were then put up in the test identification parade and the complainant Vyankati and his family members namely Hemant (P. W. 1), Rubirani (P. W. 8) and Smt. Narsamma (P. W. 9) identified the suspects in the test identification parade, as the persons who had come to their house and committed dacoity and stolen away gold and silver ornaments in the night of 4/8/1994. Thus, the accused were arrested and put up for trial. The complainant and his family members have identified Chakrapani, original accused no. 1, Ashok, original accused no. 2, Wasudeo, original accused no. 6 and Babu alias Prabhakar, the original accused no.7The complainant and his family members failed to identify the appellant Rajababu, the original accused no. 2 and Mallesh, the original accused no. 5 and Laxman, the original accused no.4