B.R.GAVAI,J. - (1.) Being aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Gondia dated 25.10.2013 in Special Criminal Case (Atro) No. 1/11, thereby convicting the appellants for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing them to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/each and in default, to suffer further R.I. for a period of three months and also convicting the appellants for the offences punishable under Section 435 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing them to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs.500/each and in default, to suffer further R.I. for a period of one month, the appellants have approached this Court.
(2.) The prosecution story, in nutshell, as could be gathered from the material placed on record is thus : The deceased Debraj was residing with his parents at Saitola. The land bearing Gat N. 415 was leased out to the accused for the purpose of cultivation on Batai basis. It is the case of the prosecution that the accused without intimating the deceased removed the paddy crop from the field and took it to their house. When the deceased came to know about this, the deceased on his motor cycle bearing No. MH35/J5661 came in front of the house of the accused on 22.11.2010 in between 6.30 to 7 p.m. He was standing near the motor cycle. The accused picked up a quarrel with the deceased for the reason of paddy crop and assaulted the deceased by the stick, i.e. ubhari and caused serious injury to the deceased. The accused thereafter brought paddy straw from the courtyard and put it on the deceased and motor cycle and set ablaze. The deceased was seriously injured. He was taken to KTS hospital, Gondia where he died. The First Information Report came to be lodged by PW.2 Bholaram, the uncle of the deceased. On the basis of the said oral report, First Information Report came to be registered vide Exh. 12 initially for the offence punishable under Section 307 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. After the death of the deceased, the same came to be converted for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
(3.) On the basis of the FIR, investigation was set into motion. At the conclusion of investigation, a charge sheet came to be filed against the accused for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 307, 435 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and also for the offence punishable under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in the Court of learned J.M.F.C., Gondia. However, since the case was exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions, the same came to be committed to the Court of the learned Sessions Judge, Gondia. The learned trial Judge framed the Charges for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 435 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and also for the offence punishable under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 below Exh. 5. The accused pleaded "not guilty" and claimed to be tried. At the conclusion of the trial, the learned trial Judge acquitted the accused for the offence punishable under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; however passed the order of conviction and sentence against the appellants, as aforesaid. Being aggrieved thereby, the present appeal has been filed.;