TATYARAO MARIBA RANKHANMBE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two appeals are filed by the two accused who are convicted and sentenced in Sessions Case No. 240/97 by the Additional Sessions Judge, ahmednagar. As the appeals are arising out of the same judgment, those are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution, as revealed from F. I. R. is as follows : on 3. 5. 1990 at about 11 p. m. , Aurangabad-Pune Asiad Bus No. MH-20-A 4186 left Aurangabad for Pune. Mohd. Salim Mohd. Suleman was the driver on the bus while Dharmaji was the conductor. More than 35 passengers were there in the bus. When the bus came near the point where the road going to Wambori joins the aurangabad-Ahmednagar road, the time was about 1 a. m. One of the passengers entered in the Cabin of the driver. He was having a sword. He placed the point of the sword on the neck of the driver and ordered the driver in Hindi to drive the bus straight and to put off the light in the bus. The driver refused to put off the light and slowed down the speed of the bus. That person was about to hit the driver with the sword but the driver warded off the blow with his right hand. He received injury on the palm of the right hand. Then that person kicked the driver out of the bus and he himself started driving the bus. When this was going on, five other passengers were threatening the other passengers with Knives in hands.

(3.) THE driver Mohd. Salim then obtained lift on one motorcycle and proceeded to Ahmednagar. When he reached the square near the D. S. P. Office, he saw one police j eep. So to inform the Police about the incident, he followed the Police jeep on the motorcycle. The jeep went to Civil Hospital, Ahmednagar, and there the conductor Dharmaji who was injured was admitted. The driver Mohd. Salim then informed the Police about the incident. The conductor was unconscious. There were other two injured passengers from the bus in the hospital. The driver learnt from those persons that the other five dacoits in the bus threatened the passengers brandishing the knives and daggers and took from them cash, wrist watches etc. The conductor and one more passenger were seriously injured. He also learnt that the bus reached upto State Bank of India at Ahmednagar. On the basis of this information, Crime No. 72/90 for offence punishable u/s. 395 and 397 was registered. This F. I. R. was filed at about 2. 45 a. m. on 4. 5. 1990.