GUDISE VENKAPPA Vs. STATE OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is by all the eight accused in Sessions Case No. 126/92 on the file of the ill Additional Sessions Judge, Kurnool who were convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 148, 324 and 302 I.P.C and all of whom were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year for the offence under Section, 148 I.P.C. imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 302 I.P.C., and out of whom accused No.1 was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year for the offence under Section 324 I.P.C. Accused no. 5 died subsequently and the, case has abate against him. They were prosecuted by the Aspari Police in Crime No. 22/9 1 for the offences punishable under Sections 148, 302 and 324 A; I.P.C. The accused pleaded not guilty to the respective charges. The convenience warrants reference to them as the accused and the prosecution.

(2.) The charges project the case of the prosecution in brief. The accused who are the close relatives among themselves are residents of Karumanchi village and are inimically disposed of the towards the deceased Ragimanu Ramanna of the same village for various reasons. On 1-6-199 1 at or about 12 noon all of them formed themselves into an unlawful assembly with the common object of no causing his death, armed with hunting sickles which are deadly weapons came to his land at Nallavagu near Kairuppala and in furtherance of on their common intention they tried to assault the deceased with hunting sickles. When P.W. 1 Savitramma the wife of the deceased tried to intervene, accused No.1 assaulted her with hunting sickle and voluntarily caused her hurt and in furtherance of such common intention, all the accused assaulted the deceased Ragimanu Ramanna with hunting sickles and hacked him to death and thereby committed the offences as alleged. Such a case is telescoped into three charges.

(3.) Since all the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and chose to be tried, the prosecution produced both occular and documentary evidence in addition to the material objects, they being 12 witnesses as per P.Ws. 1 to 12, 15 documents as per Exs. P 1 to P 15 and 13 material objects as per M.Os. 1 to 13 and Ex. D 1 marked during the cross-examination of witnesses respectively. The accused were examined under Section 313 Cr. P.C. and were called upon to enter defence. They have not chosen to produce any defence evidence. The learned Sessions Judge after hearing both the sides and with the evidence before him came to the conclusion that all the charges were proved against the accused and accordingly convicted them and passed the order of conviction and sentence as stated supra