- (1.) THE Appellants were tried in S. C. No. 52 of 1984 on the file of the II Additional Sessions Judge, Madras for nine charges.
(2.) THE first charge against all the appellants was for an offence punishable under Sec. 148, I. P. C. , on the allegation that on 9. 10. 1983 at about 4 P. M. under a banyan tree at Ranganathapuram near the house of meignanamurthy (P. W. 1) they were members of an unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapons like pattakathi and ordinary knives and in pursuance of their common object of causing hurt to P. W. 1 and committing the murder of Ponnuswami, the father of P. W. 1, committed rioting. The second charge was framed for an offence under sec. 307, I. P. C. , against the 4th appellant (4th accused) for his having attacked P. W. 1 with a pattakathi on his head during the course of the same transaction. The third charge was against the 2nd appellant (2nd accused) for an offence under Sec. 307, I. P. C. , for his having attacked P. W. 1 and his younger brother, P. W. 2 (Mohan) using the course of the same transaction with a pattakathi. The fourth charge was against the 1st appellant (1st accused) for an offence under Sec. 307, I. P. C. , for having attacked P. W. 1 on his head with a pattakathi in the course of the same incident, referred to in the earlier charges. The fifth, sixth and seventh charges were respectively framed for an offence under Sec. 307, I. P. C. , against the 3rd appellant (3rd accused), 5th appellant (5th accused) and 6th appellant (6th accused) on the allegation that they attacked P. W. 1 with pattakathi during the course of the occurrence referred to earlier.
(3.) THE eighth charge was framed against the appellants 1 to 4 (accused 1 to 4) for an offence punishable under Sec. 302, I. P. C. , or in the alternative under Sec. 302, read with Sec. 34, I. P. C. , in that they, in furtherance of the common intention of committing the murder of Ponnuswami, caused his death by the 4th appellant cutting Ponnuswami on his right ear, the first appellant cutting the deceased on is left ear, the second appellant cutting him on his left hand and the third appellant cutting him on the left leg. The last charge was framed against the appellants 5 and 6 (accused 5 and 6) for an offence punishable under Sec. 302 read with sec. 149, I. P. C. , in that they were members of an unlawful assembly in pursuance of whose common object the murder of Ponnuswami was committed by the appellants 1 to 4. The trial Judge found all the appellants hereinafter referred to as the accused, guilty under the first charge and sentenced each of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year. Under charges 2 to 7 accused 4, 2, 1, 3, 5 and 6 were found guilty and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years. (Under Charge No. 3a2 was sentenced for the offence under Sec. 307, I. P. C. , on two counts ). Under Charge No. 8, A3 and A4 were found directly guilty under Sec. 302, I. P. C. , while A1 and A2 were found guilty with the aid of Sec. 34, I. P. C. , and each of them was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. On the last charge, A5 and A6 were convicted and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. All sentences, were directed to run concurrently. ;