BABAJI SATYANARAYAN DAS Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the judgment of the First Additional Sessions Judge, Cuttack passed in Sessions Trial No. 159 of 1990 convicting the accused-appellant under Section 304-I, I.P.C. and sentencing him to undergo R. I. for 5 years.

(2.) The short fact of the prosecution case was that the accused-appellant is the Babaji of 'Bidhar Moth'in village Kabalpur. On 13-10-1989 at about 11 A.M. the deceased went to his land situated near the said Math with one of his bullockwhere the accused had raised Biri crop over math land and the bullock of the deceased damaged some Biri plants for which caused a quarrel between the accused and the deceased and in course of such quarrel the accused dealt a lathi blow on the head of the deceased as a result of which he fell down with bleeding injury on his head and there was also bleeding from the nose and ear of the deceased. The persons present nearby including the Mataji of the Math had seen the occurrence. The deceased was shifted to Jaipur P.H.C. The matter was reported to the police by the wife of the deceased, who was the informant, on the same day i.e. on 13-10-1989 at 11.30 P.M. The police after investigation chargesheeted the accused under Section 302, I.P.C. and after the commitment proceeding, the Sessions trial was taken up.

(3.) The prosecution had examined 8 witnesses of whom P. W. 1 was the informant and wife of the deceased. P.Ws. 2 and 4 are the witnesses to the occurrence and they were present near the place of occurrence and cutting grass. P.W. 2 proved to have collected the weapon of offence from the spot and produced the same before the I.O. who seized it. P.W.2 is further stated to have chased the accused along with his villagers who had produced him before the I.O. while the accused tried to escape towards Naharpada immediately after the occurrence. P. W.3.accompanied the injured to the P.H.C. at Jaipur and ultimately to the S.C.B. Medical College where the injured expired. He has also proved the inquest made by the Mangalabag police station on the dead body of the deceased and had identified the dead body before autopsy. P.W. 5 is a witness to seizure of lathi M.O.1, on production by P.W.2, P.W.5 is the A.S.I. of police, Mangalabag P. S., P.W. 7 is the doctor conducting post-mortem examination and the investigating officer is P.W. 8.