RAM DAS Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants have preferred the instant criminal appeal against the impugned judgment and findings recorded by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Katni in S. T. No. 25/90, whereby the accused appellants have been convicted for offence under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.

(2.) SUCCINCTLY narrated the facts of the case are that the accused persons and deceased Kodulal were on litigating terms due to some land dispute. Deceased Kodulal had stay order in his favour. That apart, the accused were also prosecuted for setting the Khalihan of Kodulal, a fire. In this background the accused were looking for opportunity to take revenge against the deceased. Deceased Kodulal was a school teacher and he used to go daily to Mudera, the place of his working, by cycle. As usual on 1-8-89 the date of incident at about 11. 00 o'clock in day lime deceased Kodulal was going by cycle to Mudera. On the way, in a lonely place pear Bhatia Ghati, both the accused - appellants way laid and caused him lathi injuries. Kodulal ran for life towards his village, crying for help but he was over powered and surrounded and again given merciless beatings with lathi causing as many as 12 injuries on his body. Hearing the alarm of Kodulal, Samna (P. W. 2) rushed to the spot and saw the actual assaults on the deceased. He was also threatened and chased but could not be over powered. In the meantime, Ashwani (P. W. 3) reached near Kodulal, who made an oral dying declaration to him that Ramdas and Sitaram have caused him lathi injuries. Deceased Kodulal asked him to bring water and by the time, he could reach him with water, Kodulal was dead. Samna (P. W. 2) who had run away from the spot informed the villagers about the incident. They also reached the spot to see Kodulal but he was dead. The report of the incident was lodged at 3. 00 o'clock in the afternoon as Ex. P-l by Bhagwat Prasad. Prior to that at about 2. 15 accused Ramdas had lodged a report Ex. P-20 that he had been assaulted with knife by Kodulal but on medical examination, the said injury was found to be simple in nature. He also mentioned the presence of Sitaram in that report. A challan was put up after investigation against the accused persons. They denied the assault, pleaded innocence and showed ignorance about the death of Kodulal. However, they did say that Kodulal wanted to kill them and, therefore, due to old enmity they have been falsely implicated.

(3.) THE learned Trial Judge on a close scrutiny of evidence on record found that the prosecution story does not suffer from any infirmity. The evidence of eye witness as also the oral dying declaration and the admission of accused regarding their presence on the spot and further the motive for the offence proved that the accused alone caused lathi injuries to Kodulal, which resulted in laceration of his liver leading to his death on account of shock caused by haemorrhage. Further as per statement of the doctor, these injuries were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death.