RAKESHKUMAR SOMABHAI THAKORE Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal is filed against judgment and order passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No. 2, Ahmedabad (Rural) on 31.12.2002 in Sessions Case No. 48 of 1998, convicting the Appellant (original accused No. 1) for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('the IPC' for short) and sentencing him to imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for six months. Accused No. 2-Rajubhai Devilal Mevati (A2) was acquitted of all the charges by the learned trial Court.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that the Appellant-accused and the victim, Vajesing Babusing Thakore, (the deceased) were residing at Jagatpur, Dist. Ahmedabad and were neighbours. One day before the date of incident i.e. 26.11.1997, the brother of the deceased, Mathurji Babusing Thakore (PW-5), had altercation with the Appellant-accused at a pan shop, near the society. That keeping grudge of the aforesaid incident in mind, on 27.11.1997, at about 11:30 hrs., while the deceased was towing the bicycle and was passing through Nakoda Society, Ambe Ma Chowk of village Jagatpur, the Appellant-accused assaulted him with a knife and inflicted blows on his chest. That A2 helped the Appellant-accused actively. That sister-in-law of the deceased, Shailaben w/o. Banesing (PW-2), along with her son-Ajay was going to school of his son at the time of the aforesaid incident. That PW-2 immediately ran at the place where the deceased fell down and she saw A1 and A2 running away with knife. That therefore, PW-2, along with her father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and aunty and other relatives of the deceased took the deceased in Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad where the medical officer on duty on examination declared him dead. That immediately at the civil hospital itself yadi came to be noted about the deceased having expired and thereafter, as the incident occurred within the local jurisdiction of Sarkhej Police Station, PW-2, who is an eye-witness, lodged an F.I.R., which came to be registered as C.R. No. I-179 of 1997 at Sarkhej Police Station for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 114 of the IPC and Section 135 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951. On the very next day A1 was arrested in Sabarmati area by Sabarmati Police and later on he was brought to Sarkhej Police Station.

(3.) On the basis of the FIR above-mentioned, the police started investigation and after full-fleged investigation, police submitted charge-sheet against the accused.