Case Note & Summary
The State of Maharashtra filed an appeal challenging the judgment and order of acquittal dated 17th June 1999 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Hingoli in Sessions Trial No. 28 of 1995, whereby the original accused nos. 1 to 3 and 5 to 15 were acquitted of offences under Sections 147, 148, 302, 337, 149 of the Indian Penal Code. The case arose from an FIR lodged on 23rd May 1994 by Mokinda Kishan Dhawse at Hingoli (Rural) Police Station, alleging that on 22nd May 1994 at about 6:30 p.m., the accused persons, led by Dinkar, attacked the informant and his family members following a dispute over the death of Kailash, for which deceased Bhima was suspected. It was alleged that accused Dinkar struck the informant with a lathi on the head, and when Bhima rushed to help, accused Udhav, Namdeo, and Punjaji caught him while Dinkar stabbed him in the chest with a knife and accused Natha stabbed him in the stomach with a gupti, causing his instant death. Other accused pelted stones, injuring several witnesses. The trial court, after examining 11 prosecution witnesses, acquitted the accused, finding the evidence unreliable due to omissions, contradictions, delayed FIR, and lack of corroboration from medical evidence. The State, in appeal, argued that the prosecution case rested on direct eyewitness testimony corroborated by medical evidence, while the respondents contended that the witnesses were untrustworthy, the FIR was delayed, injuries were not consistent with allegations, and the true genesis was suppressed. The High Court reserved judgment on 20th June 2017 and pronounced it on 4th July 2017, but the provided text does not contain the final decision.
Issue of Consideration
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 371 OF 1999
Case Details
2017 LawText (BOM) (07) 30
Criminal Appeal No. 371 of 1999
S.S. Shinde, S.M. Gavhane
R.V. Dasalkar, P.M. Gaikwad
Parshu Ramji Khillare and others
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Nature of Litigation
Criminal appeal against order of acquittal
Remedy Sought
The State sought to set aside the acquittal and convict the respondents for the offences charged.
Filing Reason
The trial court acquitted the respondents on 17-06-1999, prompting the State to appeal.
Previous Decisions
The Additional Sessions Judge, Hingoli, in Sessions Trial No. 28 of 1995, acquitted the respondents of all charges on 17-06-1999.
Submissions/Arguments
Learned APP for the State argued that the prosecution case rests on direct evidence of more than two eye witnesses, corroborated by medical evidence and attending circumstances, and therefore the appeal should be allowed.
Learned counsel for the respondents argued that the evidence of prosecution witnesses suffers from serious omissions, contradictions, and improvements; that the medical certificate does not correspond to the alleged injury on PW1’s head; that PW1 gave no explanation for the 12-hour delay in lodging the FIR despite police presence at the scene on the night of the incident; that the injuries on witnesses could be caused by a fall; that none of the witnesses actually saw the incident; that the accused were not in the village at the time; and that the true motive was a dispute between Bhima and Mokinda over money, leading Mokinda to kill Bhima and falsely implicate the accused.
Judgment Excerpts
The prosecution case in nutshell, is as under: The first information report ... against all accused persons Exh.60 dated 23rd May, 1994 was filed by Mokinda Kishan Dhawse ...
Accused Dinkar rushed to Bhima with a knife (Article12) and stabbed it deep in the chest of Bhima. Accused Natha was present there with Gupti. He stabbed that Gupti (Article11) in stomach of Bhima.
Immediately after stabbing, accused Natha said that, they have killed the person to whom they wanted to kill and now he asked accused persons to disperse from the place of the incident.
The Investigating Officer in his evidence before the Court stated that, on 22nd May, 1994 the Police Station, Hingoli (Rural) got information about the murder of Bhima on that night at about 11.45 p.m.
Procedural History
FIR No. 64/1994 registered on 23-05-1994 at Hingoli (Rural) Police Station; investigation carried out by PSI Dhere and later PSI Bhakre; charge sheet filed; case committed to Sessions Court as Sessions Trial No. 28 of 1995; charges framed under Sections 147, 148, 302, 337, 149 IPC and Section 135(1) Bombay Police Act; trial conducted and 11 witnesses examined; by judgment dated 17-06-1999, Additional Sessions Judge, Hingoli acquitted all accused; State filed Criminal Appeal No. 371 of 1999; heard by High Court of Bombay, Aurangabad Bench; judgment reserved on 20-06-2017 and pronounced on 04-07-2017.
Acts & Sections
- Indian Penal Code, 1860: 147, 148, 302, 337, 149
- Bombay Police Act, 1951: 135(1)
