NOTA RAM Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The informant Ramesh Chand made a complaint to the police that he was driving a vehicle of Ashok Kumar bearing registration No. HP66-5924. On 3/3/2024, he went to his home at Hatton after completing the work at Pandoh. He parked his vehicle near the shop of Kamal Kishore at about 6:15 p.m. A vehicle bearing registration no. HP01-03149 was parked near his vehicle. The driver started arguing with the informant and abused him by using the name of his caste. The informant subsequently found the driver's name as Lokesh @ Labbu. The informant asked Lokesh @ Labbu not to abuse him. Lokesh @ Labbu called someone from his phone. One Alto car reached the spot within 10 minutes. Three-four persons got down from the vehicle. They caught hold of the informant. Lokesh and those persons started beating the informant. Somebody hit the informant with the air pump. Informant sustained injuries on his head, back, arm and other parts of his body. Kirna, Kamal Kishore, Nand Lal, Naresh Kumar and Saleem gathered on the spot and they rescued the informant from those persons. The police registered the F.I.R. and conducted the investigation. The police found after the investigation that the incident started over the reversing of the vehicle. Lokesh @ Labbu had inflicted the injuries with Airpump and the rest of the persons had given beatings to the informant. They were compelling the informant to hand over the key to his vehicle so that they could take away his vehicle. The police arrested the assailants and recovered the vehicle. The accused were produced before the Court which sent them to judicial custody.

(2.) The accused/petitioners have filed separate petitions seeking their regular bail. It has been asserted that petitioners were arrested vide F.I.R. No. 51 of 2024, dtd. 3/3/2024, registered at Police Station Sadar, District Mandi, H.P. for the commission of offences punishable under Ss. 341, 323, 327, 504, 506 read with Sec. 34 of Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC') and Sec. 3(1)(s), 3(2)(v) of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 (in short 'SC&ST Act'). The petitioners are innocent and they were falsely implicated. The investigation is complete and petitioners are not required for investigation. They would abide by all the terms and conditions, which may be imposed by the Court. Hence, it was prayed that the present petitions be allowed and the petitioners be released on bail.

(3.) The police filed a status report reproducing the contents of the F.I.R. It was asserted that F.I.R. No.54 of 2021, dtd. 23/7/2021 was registered against the petitioner Lauta Ram @ Nauta Ram for the commission of offences punishable under Ss. 323, 504, 506 read with Sec. 34 of IPC at Police Station Janjheli District Mandi.