MADAN MOHAN MOHAPATRA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal from the judgment of the Sessions Judge of Mayurbhanj convicting the appellants under Sections 147, 148, 326 and 326/149, I. P. C. and sentencing them to various terms of rigorous imprisonment.

(2.) THE appellants are all residents of village Ambo, P. S. Anandapur in the district of Keonjhar. It is admitted that there are two parties in that village hostile to each other. One party is led by the Zamindar of the village known as Shri Bhu-yan Sarat Chandra Mangaraj Mohapatra and the rival party is led by appellant Harihar Patnaik. The trouble seems to have arisen sometime after the abolition of the zamindary by the State Government. The Zamindar then transferred some of the communal lands of the village in favour of his son, wife and family deity. His rival party, however, challenged these transfers and agitated the matter before the higher authorities. There was a ferry across the river Baitarani which flows by the side of the village and while the Zamindar was claiming the ferry as his own, the other villagers were claiming it as Sarbasadharan property. The Harijans of the village, however, were on the side of the Zamindar. One Jagabandhu Majhi (who was acquitted in the lower Court) was the ferry man and he brought a criminal case against the zemindar and 38 other persons alleging that they had forcibly taken away his boats on 25-6-53. That case ended in acquittal. The zamindar, in his turn, brought a counter case against his rivals for offences under Sections 147, 378, 504 and 447, I. P. C. , for unlawful fishing in the river. That case was actually pending in the Magistrate's Court at Anandapur on the date of occurrence, which was 12-5-1954. Both the factions had gone to Anandapur in connection with that case, but as it was adjourned they returned back to their Tillage Ambo which is 10 miles from Anandapur. The occurrence was said to have taken place at about 3 P. M. on that day.

(3.) THE prosecution case it that the accused party was very much annoyed with the Harijans of the village for having taken sides with the zamindar and therefore they collected together under a banian tree close to the Harijan Basti, picked up a quarrel with three of the Harijans, namely, Mana Das (P. W. 1), Dama Jena (P. W. 6) and Nata Jena (P. W. 8) and attacked them. Mana Das was severely injured and one of the injuries was a grievous hurt on his head. Some arrows were also shot at him. Nata Jena (P. W. 8) also sustained a simple injury. In the course of the fight, several other persons both on the side of the prosecution and on the side of the defence sustained injuries. It was suggested that a free fight developed later on. In the course of which one Gani Patra of the accused party was killed. Then the fight stopped and both parties rushed to the police station with their own versions as to how the fight took place. Appellant Harihar Patnaik was first to reach the Thana at 9-30 P. M. He gave a report which was recorded as a station diary entry (Ext. 6) by the literate constable in charge, Khetra Mohan Das (P. W. 21 ). The S. I. and the A. S. I. were both away from the Headquarters on that day. Mana Das (P. W. 1) however reached the Thana half an hour later at 10 P. M. and made a statement which was also recorded in the Station Diary Entry No. 209 by the same literate constable. He took immediate steps to send the injured persons for medical examination. When the S. I. of Anandapur (P. W. 23) returned to the Thana on the next day (13-5-54), he instituted two F. I. Rs on the basis of the two station Diary Entries, investigated both the cases and submitted charge-sheets in both of them. The trials of the two cases were held by the same Sessions Judge.