KALU KHAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant Criminal Appeal has been instituted by the appellants under Section 374 Cr.P.C. assailing the judgment dated 29.04.1995 rendered in Criminal Case No.71/1992 (4/1992) by the learned Special Judge, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Cases, Pratapgarh. By the said judgment, the appellants were acquitted of the offence under Section 323 IPC yet concurrently convicted and sentenced as under:

(2.) The prosecution narrative, as unfurled through the FIR lodged by the complainant Smt. Radhi (PW-1), alleges that the appellants trespassed upon her land and assaulted her, thereby inflicting bodily injuries. Following the usual investigative process, the police opined that prima facie offences under Sections 447, 323, and 34 IPC and Section 3(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 stood established. A charge-sheet was consequently filed, and the matter was committed for trial. The prosecution examined eleven witnesses and exhibited eleven documents in support of its case. The accused, in their statements under Section 313 Cr.P.C., denied the allegations and produce DW1 in their defence evidence.

(3.) I have meticulously heard learned counsel for both sides and perused the impugned judgment as well as the entire evidentiary corpus. Before embarking upon an appraisal of the merits of the appeal, it is apposite, indeed imperative, to examine whether the conviction under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act meets the statutory contours and evidentiary standards mandated by law.