STATE OF ORISSA Vs. DAYANIDHI TANDI AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard and the judgment is as follows:

(2.) Substance of the prosecution case is that accused persons and Paltan Bag (hereinafter referred to as 'deceased') and his family members are adjoining neighbours. The vacant place between the premises of the accused persons and the deceased was claimed by the accused for tying their cattle. According to the case of the prosecution, on 13.10.1990 at about 12 noon, Shakuntala Bag (P.W.2) stacked some 'khais' branches at that place. She had collected those branches to feed goats. Accused Dayanidhi and Jibardhan and female folks of their family protested such act of P.W. 2. There was a retaliation of P.W. 2 followed with exchange of words. Paltan Bag, the deceased was the husband of P.W. 2. By the time of aforesaid occurrence, he was not present in the house having gone to the market. At about 3 p.m., he returned to the house and witnessed the quarrel in which accused Dayanidhi and Jibardhan were abusing P.W. 2. The deceased protested and as a retaliation accused Dayanidhi and Jibardhan came and caught hold of his hands and dealt fist blows and, slaps on his face and back and during that incident accused Gobardhan, who was busy in playing cards in the nearby house of Basudev Jamdalia, arrived there with a spade and dealt two blows injuring the face and head of the deceased. Sustaining the blow, the deceased fell down and accused persons fled away. The deceased in injured condition was brought to Primary Health Centre, then to the Sub -divisional Hospital at Bargarh, where preliminary treatment was provided and thereafter he was taken to the V.S.S. Medical College Hospital, Burla. In the Medical College Hospital, before commencement of treatment the deceased succumbed. Thus, the case, which had been registered at Ambhabona Police Station, was ultimately registered under Sec. 302 I.P.C. and the accused persons were asked to face the Trial for the offence under Ss. 302/323/34 I.P.C.

(3.) Accused persons took the plea of denial for their offence together with an alternative plea that it is the deceased who was the aggressor by inflicting umbrella blows which had an iron handle. They also pleaded that in the process of attacking Dayanidhi and Jibardhan by the deceased, his brother Prafulla Bag (P.W.1) also joined hands being armed with spade and that spade blow dealt by P.W. 1 accidentally hit the deceased and caused the injury.