ANANT KESHAV DESAI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) DURING hearing it was brought to our notice that in Criminal Appeal No. 974 of 1977 the sole appellant Jal Naval Madan and in Criminal Appeal No. 445 of 1978 the sole appellant Dattaram Narayan Samant, have expired, hence Criminal Appeal Nos. 974 of 1977 and 445 of 1978 are abated. Remaining three appeals being Criminal Appeal Nos. 888, 889 and 890 all of 1977 are filed by different accused who were convicted by common judgment by the Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Mumbai. There were two sessions trials before the Additional Sessions Judge and they were clubbed together. In Sessions Case No. 205/73 there were 75 accused and in Sessions Case No. 504/74 there was only one accused by name Babla @ Dhaku Kesu Parab. For the sake of convenience we are referring to accused Babla @ Dhaku Kesu Parab as "accused No. 76", though he is the only accused in the sessions case. The common judgment was delivered on 17-8-1977.

(2.) OUT of the 76 accused only 39 accused preferred these three remaining appeals and they are original accused Nos. 4, 6, 11, 12, 15, 23, 28, 34, 35, 37, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 69, 72, 73, 76 (in Criminal Appeal No. 888/77), accused Nos. 7, 9, 20, 27, 56, 64, 70 and 71 (in Criminal Appeal No. 890/77), and accused No. 3 in Criminal Appeal No. 889/77 by name Fredrick Lawrence Mathais.

(3.) ALL these accused who are before us as appellants have been convicted under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and most of them have been convicted on more than 12 counts.