STATE Vs. SURJYANARAYAN SETHI AND ANR.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the Government Appeal and the Criminal Appeal arise out of the judgment dated 30.7.1987 passed by the Assistant Sessions Judge, Bhanjanagar in S.C. No. 2 of 1986. By the impugned order, the trial court convicted the accused persons under Sections 333/376/34 IPC and sentenced them to undergo R.I. for one year under Section 333 IPC and for two years under Section 376 I.P.C., both the sentences to run concurrently. The State Government has filed the appeal for enhancement of sentence under Section 377(1) Code of Criminal Procedure. and the accused persons have preferred Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 2006 challenging their conviction and sentences as passed by the Assistant Sessions Judge, Bhanjanagar. Originally, they had filed Criminal Appeal No. 162 of 1999 before the Additional Sessions Judge, Banjanagar.

(2.) BY order dated 2.1.2006 passed in the Government Appeal, this Court directed to call for the lower appellate court records for analogous hearing and disposal of both the Government Appeal and the Criminal Appeal by a common judgment in order to avoid conflicting decisions. Accordingly, the records of the above Criminal Appeal are transferred to this Court and re -registered as Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 2006.

(3.) THE further case of the prosecution is that the accused persons who were the front door neighbours of the victim, had requested her to give her Government quarters at the time of their marriage to make arrangement for feast etc, to which the victim had refused. Hence, the accused persons bore a grudge against her and out of that grudge did the above act.