STATE OF WEST BENGAL Vs. NILKANTHA MAHATO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these appeals having arisen out of the same judgment and they involving common questions of law and fact, will be governed by this single judgment.

(2.) Both these appeals are directed against the judgment and order dated 17/04/1989 passed by the Ld. Additional Sessions Judge, Purulia in Sessions Case No. 52/1985 (S.T.3/1988) of that Court whereunder the Ld. Sessions Judge found all the accused persons guilty of an offence under Section 148, IPC and convicted them thereunder and sentenced them to suffer rigorous imprisonment each for three years, but he found the other charges against the accused persons not established and accordingly he acquitted them of such charges. The convicts have preferred the appeal being C.R.A. No. 202/89 against the first part of the order, that is, against the said order of conviction and sentence, whereas the State has preferred the Appeal No. G.A. 29/1989 against the second part of the order, that is, order of acquittal of the accused persons of the various charges framed against them.

(3.) The prosecution case is that on 1-12-1982 one Shambhu Nath Mahato lodged an FIR with the C.C. Purulia (Maffassal) P. S. to the following effect. On that date at about 8-30 a.m. the accused person : along with their labourers consisting of about 25-30 heads were harvesting the standing paddy grown by one Joyram Mahato as bargadar under Kartick Chowdhury who cultivated the disputed lands bearing plot No. 550. They were armed with deadly weapons like lathi, tangi, sword, bows and arrows, etc. The accused Kalipada Mahato was standing behind them with a gun in his hand. Seeing them to harvest the paddy the informant Shambhu Mahato along with Panu alias Prankrishna Mahato, Nepal Mahato, Subhas Mahato, Chepulal Mahato, Dashrath Mahato, Digam Chitrakar, Ambuj Sohis, Haradhan Mahato and others went there in order to protest against such illegal act of the accused persons. When they went near that land, the accused Dulu Mahato shot an arrow towards them and it hit Nepal Mahato by the side of his nose. Immediately thereafter those accused persons attacked them saying "Maro sala digokay" and they inflicted cut injuries on Jathan Mahato and Nepal Mahato with tabla, so that Nepal fell down on the ground and when he fell down, Patal Mahato, Halalal and Ramanath started assaulting them with taworal, tabla and lathi. The accused Mathan Mahato and Bishma Mahato assaulted Panu alias Prankrishna Mahato with tabla and lathi so that fell down. Then Lalbas Mahato hit the informant with an iron rod on his head and Chepulal Mahato was assaulted on his head by Nilkantha with a lathi and Bulu Mahato hit Chepulal on his head with an arrow. Kalipada Mahato was standing with a gun and way saying, "finish the salas, I am here". Then the party of the informant started running away in fear and only those who were lying on the ground in injured condition remained there. The disputed paddy was cultivated by Joyram as a bargadar and his name was also recorded as bargadar and he had been cultivating the land since long. On the basis of this FIR police started the Purulia (M) P.S. case No. 1 dt. 1-12-1982 under Sections 147, 148, 149, 334, 326, 307, 506 and 302, IPC and 19(4) L.R. Act against all the accused persons named in the FIR. After investigating police submitted charge-sheet against the accused persons under Sections 147, 148, 149, 506, 326, 307 and 302, IPC. Some of the offences being sessions triable, the case was committed to the Court of Session for trial of the accused persons. The Ld. Addl. Sessions Judge framed charges against different accused persons under different Sections of the Penal Code as follows :