VASANTA ALIAS KALLU Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS criminal appeal has been preferred by the appellant/accused being aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 15-2-99 passed by the learned VI Additional Sessions Judge, Nagpur in Sessions Trial No. 390/98, whereby the appellant/accused has been convicted under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to suffer R. I. for five years with a fine of Rs. 1000/- and in default of fine, to undergo further R. I. for 3 months.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the facts of the prosecution case are that in the year 1998, the victim Shivchand alias Shivcharan Shyamji Latkar (P. W. 1) was in the employment of one Sharma Kahar on daily wages and used to work as a watchman at Water Tank, Kandri Mines. On 15-4-98 at about 7. 00 or 7. 15 p. m. , when the victim Shivcharan was standing on a hillock in front of the house of one Mohan Yadav, the accused went there and demanded fish from the victim Shivcharan. The victim told the accused that he did not have fish. Thereupon the accused asked the victim as to why he was not giving fish to him and by saying so, he inflicted knife blows on the left shoulder, back and stomach of the victim as a result of which the victim sustained bleeding injuries on his left shoulder, back and stomach. Jitendra Chawre and Dilip Bansod, who were then present there, removed the victim Shivcharan to the Cottage Hospital at Ramtek in a autorickshaw, where he was treated by Dr. (Mrs.) Naseem Akhtar - (P. W. 2), who on examination found in all 7 stab wounds on the person of the victim Shivcharan. She therefore, informed the Police Station, Ramtek about the same on telephone. P. S. I. Ghanshyam Dixit (P. W. 10) who was then present in the Police Station Ramtek, received the said phone message. He took its entry in the Station Diary and proceeded to the Cottage Hospital and recorded the statement of victim Shivcharan after verifying from the Medical Officer on duty that the victim Shivcharan was conscious and was in a position to make the statement. Thereafter as per the advise of the Medical Officer, Ramtek, the victim Shivcharan was shifted to Mayo Hospital, Nagpur along with Police Constable B. No. 295. P. S. I. Dixit then returned to the Police Station, Ramtek and lodged F. I. R. (Exh. 41) in the matter on the basis of the statement of victim Shivcharan and registered an offence as Crime No. 69/98 under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and made the investigation.

(3.) ON 16-4-98, P. S. I. Dixit visited the spot and prepared the spot panchanama (Exh. 37 ). On the same day he recorded the statement of some of the witnesses and seized the blood stained clothes of the victim Shivcharan under seizure memo (Exh. 21 ). On 19-4-98, P. S. I. Dixit had seized one iron spear having wooden handle from the accused at his instance under seizure panchanama (Exh. 22 ). On the same day he had seized the clothes of the accused under seizure memo (Exh. 25 ). The accused was then sent to Cottage Hospital, Ramtek for medical examination. The Medical Officer examined the accused and collected the sample of his blood. All the seized article were then sent to Chemical Analyser, Nagpur for analysis, whose reports are produced at Exhibits 17 and 18. As such, on completion of the investigation, the charge-sheet came to be presented in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Ramtek. On commitment, the charge (Exh. 4) was framed by the trial Court against the accused under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code to which the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. His defence was one of total denial and false implication.