HEMANTA PAL Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal has been preferred against the judgment dtd. 14/2/1998 passed by the Learned Additional Sessions Judge at Kandi, Musrhidabad in sessions case No. 13 of 1997 (Sessions Trial No. 2 (8)/97) thereby finding the present appellant guilty of an offence punishable u/s 308 of IPC and thereby convicting him and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of 05 years.

(2.) The brief fact of the prosecution case is that on 5/10/1994 at about 06:00 p.m the present appellant and one Madhu Pal called Ranjan Das to the house of the appellant and while the said persons were watching television in the drawing room therein Ranjan Das was assaulted by the appellant with the help of 'hasua' and iron road as a result Ranjan sustained injuries on his face. Hearing hues and cry Swapan Das, elder brother of Ranjan Das and other co-villagers reached the house of the appellant and found the door of the drawing room lock from inside and Ranjan crying from inside of the said room thereafter, upon pushing open the door they found Ranjan lying in the room having injuries of his person and the said above mentioned two persons were found leaving the said room from the opposite side of the door. It is the further case of the prosecution that Ranjan thereafter taken to Burdwan hospital and therefrom referred to the Kandi hospital. The written complaint was lodged by the brother of the injured Swapan Das with the Officer-in-charge of Burdwan Police Station. In pursuance to such complaint Burdwan P.S Case No. 126/94 dtd. 5/10/1994 was initiated against the appellant and one Madhu Pal for the alleged commission of offence punishable u/s 326/34 IPC. After completion of investigation the investigating agency submit a charge-sheet against the only appellant u/s 325 of the IPC thereafter the appellant committed to the Court of Sessions for trial wherein the Learned Sessions Judge was pleased to frame charge against the present appellant u/s 325/308 of the IPC. During the trial the prosecution has examined 11 witnesses while the defence preferred not to examine any witnesses. The story of the defence is manly on denial and false implication.

(3.) The Learned Sessions Judge after going through the evidences on record and after examining the appellant u/s 313 of Cr.P.C. and also after hearing the Learned Advocate for the defence, and the Learned P.P passed the impugned judgment of order of conviction by holding the appellant guilty u/s 308 of IPC and thereby sentence him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 05 years. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid order of conviction and judgment the instant appeal has been preferred. The Learned Advocate for the appellant submits that the Learned Sessions Judge has failed to appreciate the facts and circumstances of this case and came to an erroneous finding. He further argued that the prosecution has adduced as many as 11 witnesses; all the witnesses are the close relatives of the victim and they are the interested witnesses. It is the further argument of the Learned Advocate for the appellant that the prosecution case goes to show that at the time of incident there were at least 20 to 50 persons gathered and broke out the door of the drawing room of the appellant and rescued the victim, but no such witnesses were adduced by the prosecution to prove the case. There are major contradictions between the versions of the incident as given PW2, PW 3 and PW 9;thus it is very dangerous to convict the present appellant upon such unreliable and conflicted evidences.