Case Note & Summary
The case involves criminal appeals arising from Sessions Case No. 44/2011 decided by the Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmednagar. The appellants, original accused Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, and 11, were convicted for offences including conspiracy to commit murder and the murder itself. Specifically, accused Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8 were convicted under sections 302 read with 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, while accused No. 11 was convicted under section 5 read with section 25 of the Arms Act. The trial court sentenced the main conspirators and shooters to life imprisonment, and acquitted several other accused, which acquittals were not challenged by the State. The prosecution's case centered on a political rivalry in village Narayangavhan, Tahsil Parner, District Ahmednagar. Accused No. 1 and his son accused No. 2 had longstanding enmity with the deceased Prakash Kandekar. Previously, accused No. 1 controlled the village panchayat and a cooperative society, but Prakash's group had ousted them. A criminal case against associates of Prakash ended in acquittal shortly before the murder, further aggravating the feud. Motivated by this rivalry, accused Nos. 1 and 2 decided to eliminate Prakash. They enlisted accused No. 8, a military man from Pune with contacts, to hire professional killers. Accused No. 8, along with his brother accused No. 7, was tasked with arranging the firearm and shooters. The conspiracy involved procuring a firearm from accused No. 11 of Uttar Pradesh and handing it to accused Nos. 5 and 6, who were hired killers. Accused Nos. 1 and 2 withdrew large sums of money to pay them. On 13 November 2010, the plan was executed. That day, the deceased and his friend Kisan Shelke (PW 14) traveled to Shirur on a scooter. Accused Nos. 5 and 6, riding a black Pulsar motorcycle, tailed them. At around 4.30 p.m., near Mahendra Dhaba Hotel, accused No. 6 pulled alongside the scooter, pretending to ask directions to Shirdi. When the deceased slowed down, accused No. 5, the pillion rider, fired a bullet at the deceased's head. Prakash lost control, fell, and died at the spot. Eye witnesses PW 14, PW 16, and PW 17 saw the attack. Though PW 14 could not identify the assailants, he expressed suspicion against accused Nos. 1 and 2 in the FIR. PW 17 had seen them earlier with accused No. 1. After the murder, a series of events unfolded to conceal evidence. The post-mortem at Civil Hospital, Ahmednagar, involved accused doctors (Nos. 3 and 4) and a sweeper (No. 13) who helped remove the bullet from the body despite an earlier X-ray showing its presence. This attempt to make evidence disappear led to charges against them, but the trial court acquitted them. During investigation, police recovered the used bullet from accused No. 12, to whom it had been handed over by accused No. 10. The mobile handsets and call detail records of the conspirators revealed frequent communication before the incident. The police also recovered the firearm and empty cartridges. Accused Nos. 5 and 6 were arrested in Goa. Accused Nos. 1 and 2 were arrested the next day. The trial court relied on three eye witnesses to convict the appellants. The appeals challenged these convictions, but the High Court's judgment is not fully known from the provided text.
Issue of Consideration
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 140 OF 2017
