SHEIK SILAR SAHEB AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Judgment of the Court was delivered by The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Chandra Reddy.

(2.) The appellants (A-1, A-3, A-5, A-9, A-11, and A-12) along with six others were put up for trial before the Additional Sessions Judge, Guntur on charges of conspiracy, rioting and murder in connection with the murder of one Alla Subbareddy of Munnangi that took place on the 16th of January 1954 in Tenali town. The Sessions Judge found the appellants guilty under Section 120-B I.P.C. In addition, appellants 4 to 6 have been convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 I.P.C. The first four appellants have been sentenced to transportation for life and appellants 5 and 6 to death. The other accused were acquitted.

(3.) There were two factions in Munnangi for about 15 years prior to the occurrence, one headed by the karnam of the village and the other by the deceased. The karnam was murdered seven years before. In the Sessions Case that followed, the deceased figured as one of the accused and the trial ended in his acquittal. One Kusuma Venkatareddy became the leader in the place of the deceased Karnam. He also shared the same fate, having been murdered two months before the occurrence. Suspicion fell on the deceased as the author of the crime. There was a third murder in the village. One Sheik Mahaboob who belonged to the faction opposite to that of the deceased mysteriously disappeared in or about the month of December 1953 and has not been heard of since. The deceased was suspected of having liquidated this man also. Ten months previous to the present crime, there were panchayat elections in the village, the deceased supporting one candidate and the faction of the accused helping his rival. Accused 1, 2, 3 and 6 belonged to Munnangi village and were members of the karnam's party. A-4 was the proprietor of a restaurant in Tenali called 'Bharath Cafe', A-5 being the manager thereof. A-7 and A-8 belonged to Kolakalur and Hanumanupalem respectively, but were staying in Tenali and messing in the hotel of A-4, for five or six months before the offence. A-9 and A-10 who are brothers belonged to Pathur while A-11 is of Cuddapah district. These three are Muslims. A-12 is a resident of Atchayapalam of Narasaraopet taluk. A-11 and A-12 were living in Pathur doing cooly work. A-3 was carrying on business in electrical goods in Tenali.