KRUPASINDHU DAS Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) :- Both the criminal Appeals are directed against the judgment and order dated 29-5-1995 passed by the Add1. Sessions Judge, jajpur in Sessions trial No. 86/12 of 1993. As it appears, eighteen persons were charged for commission of offences under Sections 148, 302/149 and 307/149 of the Indian Penal Code, but seventeen persons faced trial and the case was split up against one of the accused persons. Out of the seventeen accused persons who faced trial, five were acquitted, namely dura Jena, Dinabandhu Das, Parsu Das, padan Jena and Kasi Das. All the appellants were convicted for commission of offence under Section 148 of the IPC. Learned trial court is silent with regard to award of any sentence for conviction under Section 148, ipc and thereby, has not awarded separate sentence thereunder, though the same should have been specifically pointed out. Appellants Krupasindhu Das, Narahari jena, Laxmidhar Jena, Jairam Das, trilochan Ghadei, Alekha Ghadei and gobinda Mohanty were convicted for commission of the offences under Sections 302 / 149 of the IPC and were sentenced to R. I. for life, whereas other appellants were convicted for commission of offences under Sections 307/149 of the IPC and were sentenced to R. I. for seven years each. It was further directed that in respect of the appellants who were convicted for both the offences, the sentences would run concurrently.

(2.) P. W. 1 is the informant and father of the deceased. In the FIR which was lodged on 15-6-1991 at about 7 p. m. before the OIC balichandrapur Police Station, it is alleged that on that day at about 10 a. m. his elder son (P. W. 5) had been to guard jute field and other two sons, deceased Ramesh and P. W. 8, had been to Panasus booth to cast votes for the Panchayat election. At that time accused Krupasindhu Das and other accused persons being armed with Farsa and lathis numbering about 20 to 30 drove cattle to the jute field belonging to the informant and started damaging the crop. P. W. 5 who was guarding jute field out of fear ran towards the booth to call his other two brothers and all of them started running on the road and when they came near the jute field to scare away the cattle, all the accused persons rushed towards them, whereafter the three brothers started running on the road out of fear. It is further alleged that the deceased ramesh was assaulted by means of lathi and farsa and he ultimately succumbed to the injuries at S. C. B. Medical College and hospital, Cuttack. P. W. 5 was brutally assaulted when he tried to rescue the deceased and p. W. 8 was also brutally assaulted. In course of the assault when hullah was raised, other persons came to the field and the accused persons fled away from the spot. On these allegations an FIR having been lodged, investigation was taken up and charge-sheet was filed for commission of the aforesaid offences.

(3.) THE prosecution examined 13 witnesses to prove the charges, whereas one witness was examined on behalf of the defence. Out of 13 witnesses, P. Ws. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 are the eye-witnesses out of whom p. Ws. 5 and 8 are the injured eye-witnesses. P. W. 6 is witness to the seizure of Exts. 5 and 6 and P. W. 7 is the doctor who conducted post-mortem examination. P. W. 9 is the person who prepared a sketch map and p. W. 10 is the I. O. of Mangalabag Police station. P. W. 11 is the doctor who examined the injured and P. Ws. 12 and 13 are the I. Os. The trial Court accepting the version of the eye-witnesses to the occurrence convicted the appellants as stated earlier.