CHERUKURI SETTI BALIJA HANUMANTHAPPA AND OTHER Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals are from a Judgment of the Sessions Judge Anantapur, in Sessions Case No. 1. of 1961. Criminal Appeal No. 228 is by accused Nos. 1 and 4 while Criminal Appeal No. 803 is by accused Nos. 2, 3 and 5. The accused will be referred to as A-1 to A-5 according to their rank in the Court below and both the appeals will be disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) The five accused were tried before the Sessions Court on charges under Section 148, 302 and 302 read with section 34 I.P.C., or in the alternative under Section 302 read with Section 149 I.P.C. The allegation against the accused was that on the 22nd of October 1960 at about 6-30 A.M., the five accused had formed themselves into an unlawful assembly with the common object of causing the death of one Hanumautha Gowd, and, arming themselves with "bana" sticks (stout male bamboos) had, in prosecution of their common object and in furtherance of their common intention, caused the death of the said Hanumantha Gowd (hereinafter called the deceased) by belabouring him indiscriminately in the bed of the Hagiri river near the village of Kalludevanahalli. The learned Sessions Judge found that the prosecution had proved its case by reliable evidence and convicted all the five accused under section 148 I.P.C. and sentenced each of them to two years' rigorous imprisonment ; but so far as the charge of murder was concerned, he took the view that A-2, A-3 and A-5 alone were guilty of the offence of murder but that A-1 and A-4 were guilty only of the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He accordingly convicted A-2, A-3 and A-5 under Section 302 I.P.C. and sentenced each of them to suffer imprisonment for life. As regards A-1 and A-4 the learned Judge convicted them under see. 304 I.P.C. and sentenced each of them to suffer five years' rigorous imprisonment. The learned Judge directed the sentences passed on each of the accused to run concurrently.

(3.) The facts disclosed by the evidence adduced by the prosecution are as follows. All the accused are closely related to one another. A-2 and A-3 are the sons of A-1. A-4 is the brother of A-1. A-5 is the son of A.4. A-1 to A-3 were residing in Kalludevanahalli while A-4 and A-5 were residing in a neighbouring village called Kalavala, which is about a mile and a half from Kalludevanahalli. The deceased was also a resident of Kalludevanahalli. He has two sons named Mukana Gowd and Salingana Gowd. The latter has been examined as P.W. 7 P.W. 5 (Batchala Gowd), who is the Village Munsif of Kalludevanahalli and lives in that village, is the younger brother of the deceased. He has a son by name Gadi Lingana Gowd.