PRAMOD PRADHAN Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Appeal has been preferred challenging the judgment and order dated 30th June, 1989 passed by the Sessions Judge, Phulbani convicting the appellants under Section 394/34, IPC and sentencing each of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years.

(2.) The accusation against the appellants was that on 9-9-1988 at about 9 p.m. while P.W. 6 Jogendra Pradhan was coming on road by a cycle from Boudh Block Office with his salary of Rs. 780.00 in his pocket, they robbed the said amount from him by causing grievous hurt on his left hand by a 'Kati' in furtherance of their common object. Hearing the cry of P.W. 6 while his son-in-law, the informant P.W. 1, and others came to the spot, they found P.W. 6 lying on the road with bleeding injury and the appellants running away. FIR being lodged with Boudh P.S., the officers of that police station conducted investigation, got injured Jogendra medically examined, seized the blood-stained clothes and earth, and the appellants having absconded from village, arrested them subsequently. Charge-sheet for alleged commission of offences under Sections 398/394/34 having been filed, the case was committed to the Court of Session and the appellants faced trial in that Court. The defence of the appellants was complete denial of the occurrence and/or their false implication in the case. In order to establish its case, prosecution got ten witnesses examined besides exhibiting ten documents and producing seven material objects. The trial Court after discussing the evidence in details found the appellants guilty of the charge under Section 394/34, IPC. Convicting the appellants of the said charge the trial Court has sentenced each of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years as stated above.

(3.) This Court heard the learned counsel for the appellants arid the learned counsel for the State and perused the materials available on record. Out of the witnesses examined on behalf of the prosecution, P.W. 6 was the injured himself, P.W. 1 was the informant, P.W. 2 was the Medical Officer of the Sub-divisional Hospital, Boudh, who had examined P.W. 6 on requisition and P.W. 3 was the Pharmacist in the said Hospital, P.Ws. 4 and 5 who were said to be the post-occurrence witnesses and had rushed to the spot hearing the cry of the injured and to have seen the injured lying on the ground with bleeding injury while the appellants were fleeing away, turned hostile to the prosecution, P.W. 7 was the I.O. being the OIC of Boudh P.S., P.W. 10 was an ASI of the Boudh P.S. who had conducted major part of the investigation whereafter P.W. 7 had taken over charge thereof. P.W. 9 was a Teacher of an Upper Primary School and, P.W. 8 was an independent witness who had deposed that immediately after hearing the cry of injured P.W. 6 he had rushed to the spot when P.W. 6 told him about the aforesaid overt acts of the appellants. He has stated to have lifted the injured from the ground at the spot of occurrence with the help of some others and took him to his house whereafter P.W. 1, the son-in-law of P.W. 6, removed P.W. 6 to Hospital in Ambulance.