CHARAN PRADHAN Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants being accused in S.T. Case No.55 of 1996 pending before the Assistant Sessions Judge, Athagarh faced trial for alleged commission of offences under Sections 147/148/332/333/325/307/379/149 IPC.

(2.) THE Criminal action was set in motion on the basis of an FIR filed by P.W.13, an Assistant Sub -Inspector of Police. It was alleged in the FIR that at the midnight of 23rd January, 1992 while the Forest staff of Purunakota Range were performing patrol duty under the leadership of P.W.13 they heard some felling sound in the teak plantation area. Then they noticed two persons dragging teak logs from the reserve forest. They seized the said logs and detained the culprits. As the said two culprits raised hulla and called their companions, about sixty persons arrived at the spot being armed with axe, sword, lathi, etc., surrounded the Forest staff and threatened them to kill. They in fact assaulted them for which some of the staff ran helter and skelter to save their lives while P.W.22 Birendra Chandra Sahu, the Range Officer, and others were severely assaulted and were injured. The accused persons in course of assault also snatched away a DBL gun from the Range Officer. The injured were first shifted to Purunakota Hospital and then to B.D. Hospital at Angul for treatment and next day P.W.13 lodged the FIR at Narasinghpur P.S. on the basis of which G.R. Case No.5(A)/92 was initiated in the Court of the JMFC, Narasinghpur. The said case being committed to the Curt of session was registered as the aforesaid S.T. Case. The plea of the accused -appellants was denial of the alleged occurrence.

(3.) THE trial Court after discussing the evidence of P.Ws. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20 and 21 and after perusing the injury reports and analysing the medical evidence in that regard came to the conclusion that prosecution had successfully established its case against the accused persons under Sections 148/333/332/379/149 IPC beyond all reasonable doubts and convicted them there -under. It also held that the prosecution had failed to establish the commission of offences by the accused persons under Sections 147/325/307 IPC and acquitted them of the said charges. The trial Court sentenced the accused -appellants to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year for offence under Section 148 IPC; five years rigorous imprisonment for offence under Section 333/149 IPC; one years rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 332/149 IPC and one years rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 379/149 IPC besides sentencing each of the accused -appellants to pay a fine of Rs.1,000.00 in all counts, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months more. The substantive sentences have been directed to run consecutively. The aforesaid judgment of conviction and sentence is assailed in this appeal.