PUBLIC PROSECUTOR A P Vs. SARELLA GOPALA RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State has filed this appeal against an order of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, West Godavari, acquitting the respondents from the charges for which they were prosecuted. It is alleged by the prosecution that since the Panchayat elections there are two factions among the Harijans of the village Nandanurivaru. A-1 is said to be the leader of one party and he also is a master of the Samithi School in the village. The accused are also inter-related. According to P.W. 1, he was asked by A-1 to contest for the Panchayat Elections that took place some two years prior to the occurrence for the Harijan seat to which he agreed. But as the elections approached A-1 is said to have told him that he was not on the electoral list and therefore he would set up A-5 as a Harijan candidate to which P.W. 1 did not agree. Thereafter P.W. 1 and the people of his party set up Mahankali, the husband of the deceased woman, but he was defeated.

(2.) The immediate motive appears to be that P.W. 4's wife was ill who came to the village and P.W. 4 borrowed Rs. 13 from A-1 for his wife's treatment on the morning of 23rd May 1966. Thereafter a quarrel took place between A-6 and P.W. 4. Then A-6 went and brought A-1 with him and asked him to demand back the loan of Rs. 13 from P.W. 4. The deceased Ganapathamma was present at that time and she gave Rs. 10 to P.W. 4 for payment to A-1. Giving this amount to A-1. P.W. 4 told him that he would return the balance of Rs. 3 on the next Monday. Then there was a lull in the village. At about 7 or 8 P.M. when P.W. 1 was sitting on the pial of the house of Pedapati Peda Narasimhulu and was calling out P.W. 4. accused 1 to 7 arrived at the house of P.W. 4. A-1 asked P.W. 4 to repay the balance of Rs. 3. P. W. 4. repeated that he would pay the balance on Monday next. A-1 said that P.W. 4, and his wife were abusing A-6 and his wife and there fore the balance of the amount should be paid immediately. P.W. 1 suggested to P.W. 4 that he would advance the amount of Rs. 3 to him and he should tell A-1 accordingly. Saying this, P.W. 1 asked P.W. 4 to come to the fields to give water to the seed beds. But A-1 to A-7 obstructed them. P.W. 1 told them that he would give the money the next morning, but A-7 pulled him by his left wrist and asked him to pay up the amount at once.

(3.) When P.W. 1 tried to release his hand, A-1 beat him on the head with the stick portion of the spear that he was carrying and A-2 to A-7 also beat him. A-7 gave three blows to P.W. 2, one between the little and last fiongers of left hand, the second on the right upper arm and the third on the left side of the head. At this stage, Ganapathamma, the deceased, came on the scene from her house which is closeby and raised a cry that P.W. 1 was being killed. Then A-1 speared heron the right side of her stomach and A-2 speared her on the left side of the stomach. She fell down and the accused ran away. People gathered at the scene of occurrence. The injuries of the deceased were bandaged and she was put on a cot and taken to the police station at Veeravasaram. P.Ws. 1 and 2 who had also received injuries were taken in a bullock cart. When they arrived at the police station, the constable on duty coming to know the purpose of their visit sent word to the Sub-Inspector, P.W. 15. When he came, he recorded statement under Exhibit P-23 from the deceased Ganapathamma at 00-30 A.M. and sent all the three injured to the hospital at Bhimavaram, P.W. 9, the Civil Assistant Surgeon at the Government hospital sent one requisition to the Sub-Inspector of Police, P.W. 16 and another to the Principal District Munsif for recording the dying declarations. P.W. 16 recorded a statement from the deceased under Exhibit P-6 at about 5-30 A.M. in the presence of P.W. 9. The Magistrate, P.W. 13 came a little later and he also recorded a statement from the deceased under Exhibit P-7 at 6 A.M. The deceased, it appears, could not survive those injuries and died on the same day at about 7-30 A.M. P.W. 15 received an intimation from the station House at Bheemavaram that Ganapathamma had died anditherefore he altered the section into 302, Indian Penal Code and sent express reports to all concerned. After inquest, P.W. 16 sent the body for post-mortem examination and P.W. 9 conducted post-mortem on the same day at about 2 P.M. He found the following two external injuries :- (1) Stab wound 4" X 'f " X 4" below right costal margin ; placed obliquely, direction downwards and inwards, opening into the abdominal cavity, margins clean cut. peritonium punctured, peritonial cavity contains about 1 pints of blood, food material found in peritonial cavity. Transverse colon and stomach are punctured in relation to the injury. (2) Stab wound 3 X 3/4 " X 4" over upper part of left side of abdomen below costal margin, direction downwards, and inwards, margins clean cut opening into the peritonial cavity, peritonium punctured, stomach punctured in relation to injury.