GUNANIDHI SUNDARA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner assails the judgment and order passed by Mr. B. N. Patnaik, Assistant Sessions Judge, Pun, convicting him under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him there-under to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years and the order of dismissal of his appeal recorded by Mr. N. Purohit, Sessions Judge, Pun.

(2.) I have considered the convicted prisoners application in revision from the jail and the evidence on record and have heard the learned Additional Standing Counsel for the State who tried at a initial stage of the hearing of this revision to support the order of conviction and then left the matter to the judicial determination of this Court in view of the serious infirmities and inconsistencies in the evidence of the victim (P.W. 6) whose statements in his evidence had brought about his condemnation. For the reasons to be recorded hereinafter, I am of the view that to maintain the order of conviction would mean travesty of justice.

(3.) The petitioner Gunanidhi Sundara and the co-accused Deben Mohanty stood charged under section 307 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code with having attempted to commit the murder of Rabindra Kumar Mohanty at Pun on the 25th June, 1980, by inflicting knife blows on his person in furtherance of their common intention and the allegation against them was that having rivalry with the victim Rabindra Kumar Mohanty (P.W. 6) and his friend and associate Santiranjan Mishra (P. W. 1) over the procurement of tourists to board the hired buses, the petitioner, being armed with a knife handed over to him by the co-accused, stabbed the victim on his abdomen quickly followed by further assault on his person on the lips and left hand causing serious internal injuries dangerous to life and then took to his heels. On the basis of the first information report (Ext. 1) lodged by P.W. 1 Santiranjan, the companion of the victim, investigation was taken up in the course of which the dying declaration (Ext. 3) of the victim was recorded by the doctor (P.W. 2) at the headquarters hospital at Pun and the witnesses were examined and some seizures were made. On the completion of investigation, the petitioner and the co-accused Deben Mohanty were prosecuted. To bring home the charge to them, the prosecution had examined eight witnesses of whom the victim (P.W. 6), the first-informant (P.W. 1) and two other persons, namely, Harekrisbna Das (P.W. 4) and Bahuda Behera (P.W. 5) had been examined as the witnesses to occurrence. P.Ws. 2 and 7 were the doctors who had treated the victim. P.W. 3 was a witness to the seizures. P.W. 8, the Sub-Inspector of Police, had investigated into the case. The plea of the petitioner and the co-accused person was one of denial. No witness had been examined for the defence.