STATE OF ORISSA Vs. HAZARI PRADHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Being aggrieved by the order of acquittal passed by the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, Nayagarh in S.T Case No. 26/427 of 1993 acquitting the respondents from the charge U/s.457/395/IPC read with Section 9 (B) of Indian Explosive Substances Act this appeal has been filed by the State.

(2.) Short case of the prosecution is that on the intervening night of 18/19.3.93 the respondents receiving information that informant ( P.W.1) had come to his house at Akhuapadar from his place of service Kanpur where he was serving as a instrument fitter in the Indian Air Force and also that he had brought huge amount of cash with him, forced their entry to the house after breaking open the door made up off bamboo. At that relevant night P.W.1's father and elder brother were absent and his sister in law was sleeping with her children in a room, when he, his mother, sister and nephew were sleeping on the verenda. It is said that the culprits after entering into the house tied the hands of P.W.1, his mother and nephew by means of napkin and then by giving threat at the point of knife, put them inside the room where informant's sister in law was sleeping. There they demanded that the informant should pay them cash of Rs.1,00,000/-. In spite of the threat the informant denied to have brought any cash with him and asked them to take away whatever cash he had. The respondents then broke open the trunk and removed cash of Rs.25,000/-, gold ornaments weighing about two bharies and silver ornaments weighing about 12 bharies. It is also stated that the culprits had attempted to snatch away nose ring from the mother of the informant which was protested by the informant and then the mother of the informant was given a blow by means of torch light causing simple injury. Lastly the Culprits keeping the family members of the informant in one room, bolted it from out side and left the spot.

(3.) Prosecution in this case examined 9 witnesses and among them the most important are P.W.1 the informant, P.W.2 the nephew and P.W.7 mother of informant. P.W 5 is the Magistrate, who held the T.I parade and the doctor who had examined P.W.2 and 7 has also been examined as P.W.6. Other witnesses are the I.Os. The respondents have also examined one witness in their defence as D.W.1.