SAGI CHITTI RAJU Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS criminal appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 27.5.1989 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Ganjam, Berhampur in S.C. No.155 of 1988 convicting the appellant under Section 304 Part -I IPC and sentencing him to undergo R.I. for seven years.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution is that the father of the accused -appellant and P.W.2 the elder brother of the appellants father, who happens to be the informant of this case, were not pulling on well for long over division of their ancestral land of about 26 acres lying spread within the limits of village Gudiapalli, and had been litigating over a mango tope of that village. On 17.4.1988 the deceased, who is the son of P.W.2, and his brother (P.W.1) had entered into the tope along with P.W.3 and a labour named Jogi Jani. While they were gathering the fallen mangoes inside the tope, at about 6 a.m., accused -appellant S. Chitti Raju and his brother S. Appala Raju (co -accused) appeared at the tope along with their servant, Mochia Jena and restrained them from gathering mangoes. The deceased, S. Krishnamurty Raju without paying any heed to their words of restraint proceeded with his work of gathering and on slighting him doing that, accused Appala Raju and Chitti Raju pushed him away to his fall and pressed him to the ground. P.W.3 intervened and making the two accused persons to depart from the scene for their village, followed them along with Jogi Jani with a view to hire a cart for shifting the mangoes. P.W.3 remained at the road junction of village Gudiapalli. After some time P.W.1 came there from the tope along with his brother and joined P.W.3 in talk on the eastern side of the road in front of the hotel of one Bansi Behera, leaving his brother S. Krishnamurty Raju, the deceased with their bicycle on the other side of the road to the west. While he was so taking with P.W.3, accused Sanyasi Raju came out of his house along with his son Appalla Raju and both of them positioning themselves in front of Krishnamurty Raju immobilised him by laying their grip upon both of his arms. Accused Chitti Raju appeared at the scene following their foot steps with the knife (M.O.I.) in his hand, stabbed Krishnamurty Raju on the lower part of the right side of his chest, and rushed back to his house together with his father and brother by leaving the knife embedded inside the chest cavity of the deceased. P.W.1 rushed down from a distance of about 10 cubits to the scene, pulled out the knife (M.O.I.) from the chest of his brother, Krishnamurty Raju and thereafter the three accused persons for their apprehension with that knife in his hand, but finding them going inside their house rushed back to the spot to rescue his brother. P.Ws.6 and 7 who were nearby also rushed to the aid of S. Krishnamurty Raju and rendering first aid by tying a towel around the body to check the flow of blood despatched the injured to Polasara hospital by a taxi, wherefrom the injured was shifted to the Medical College Hospital at Berhampur for intensive treatment. F.I.R. was lodged by P.W.2 the father of the deceased, upon which a case was registered and P.W.8 and A.S.I. of Police investigated into the matter, later on, P.W.9 the O.I.C., took over the charge of investigation and came to learn of the death of the injured at the M.K.C.G., Medical College Hospital as a result of the wound sustained on 17.4.1988. P.W.9 came to the Hospital, recorded the statements of P.Ws.1 and 3, hold inquest over the deadbody, prepared the inquest report and sent the deadbody for post mortem examination. On completion of investigation, final form was submitted against the appellant -Sagi Chitti Raju, his father S. Sanayasi Raju and brother S. Appala Raju.

(3.) IN order to prove its case, the prosecution examined as many as 9 witnesses including the doctor and the I.O. and proved 20 documents. Defence examined none, but proved 8 exhibits.