STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH Vs. RAKESH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal at the instance of State is directed against the judgment dated 22-5-1990 and learned Sessions Judge, Shimla passed in Sessions Trial No. 27-S/7 of 1988 whereby the accused-respondents were acquitted of the charges under Ss. 452/302/147/148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) Briefly stated the prosecution case was as under :

(3.) According to the prosecution, the SHO had been enquiring about the occurrence at the spot and till 12 noon on 8-8-1988, no student of N.S.U.I. was available at the spot and also the injured could not make any statement by that time. Thereafter, Shri Arun Sharma (P.W. 7) President of N.S.U.I., H. P. State Unit made a statement before the Police on 8-8-1988 at about noon which was so recorded by the Police under S. 154, Cr. P.C. (Ext. PP). He had stated that he was a student of Foreign Language Department of H.P. University and was a student of Russian language. He stated that on 7-8-1988 at about 9 at night, Nasir Khan telephoned to him at his residence at Sanjauli that S/Shri Kapil Palsara, Rakesh Walia, Mohinder Negi, Yash Pal Dhaulta and other S.F.I. activists had given him severe beatings as a consequence of which he was injured. Shri Arun Sharma has also stated that Nasir Khan further informed that he was having danger to his life from S.F.I. students and he also requested to make arrangement for his defence and further inform the police. He also added that after informing the police he reached in Summer Hill at the place of occurrence, but by that time, Nasir Khan had been removed to Snowdon Hospital for treatment. Thereafter, he searched for N.S.U.I. students in the hostel and noticed that all the rooms occupied by N.S.U.I. students in the hostel were left open, the luggage in the rooms was in broken condition. He also informed the police that he could not trace S/Shri Madan Lal, Ramesh Sankhian and Sher Singh in their respective rooms in the hostel. On the morning on 8-8-1988 at about 6 a.m. Shri Yadavinder Gupta (P.W. 15) informed him through telephone that last night, the N.S.U.I. students were chased by Jasbir Katoch, Suresh, Vijay Kaushal and C.R. Dogra under the leadership of Yashpal Dhaulta and those N.S.U.I. students had gone towards Dr. Parmar Hostel side Shri Arun Sharma suspected that his colleagues might not be thrown away after giving assaults by S.F.I. students. He also informed the police that Nasir Khan had received serious injuries on various parts of his body and until that time he was not in a position to give statement. He requested the police that necessary legal action be taken against the aforesaid S.F.I. students from whom he suspected danger to his life and other students of N.S.U.I.