AKSHYA KUMAR DHAL AND ORS. Vs. THE STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CRIMINAL Appeal No. 182 of 1974 and Criminal Appeal No. 186 of 1974 arise out of the judgment in Session Trial No. 72 (S -B) of 1973 passed by the Sessions Judge, Sambalpur -Sundargarh on 28 -8 -1974 wherein 19 accused persons (the same order is followed in these appeals) were facing trial under various sections of the Indian Penal Code such as 384. 302/332/225, 114, 148, 147 and 149. In Criminal Appeal No. 182 of 1974 here are three Appellants, namely Akshya, Dasarathi and Sudhir are respectively accused Nos. 1, 4 and 8 in the lower Court. The rest 16 are the Appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 186 of 1974. All the accused Appellants excepting Balaram (A. 2) have been convicted under Section 332/149 and sentenced to undergo R.I. for one year on that Court. Besides, all the Appellants Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 18 have been convicted under Section 304/149 and sentenced to undergo R.I. for 5 years. Appellant No. 2 has been convicted under Section 304/114 and sentenced to undergo R.I. for 3 years while he has also been convicted under Section 332/114 and sentenced to undergo R.I. for six months. The two sentences have been directed to run concurrently. Some of the Appellants are convicted under Section 332/149 have undergone their full terms of imprisonment. Both the appeals were heard analogously and this common judgment will dispose of both the appeals.

(2.) BRIEFLY the prosecution case is thus: On 10 -7 -1972 p.w. 8, the A.S.I of Police attached to Naikula P.S., got information from p. ws. 9 and 13, the two Forest Guards, that three stolen logs bad been kept concealed in the threshing floor of accused Balaram (A. 2) at his village Gogua. At that time the officer -in -charge of the Naikula P.S. (p.w.1) was absent. Consequently p.w. 8 registered a case (P.S. Case No. 26/72) and took up preliminary investigation. He proceeded to the threshing floor of accused Balaram and in fact found three logs lying there. Thereafter he went to Dahikhia which is a hamlet of village Gogua. There he found Balaram and so he arrested him, put handcuffs, put a rope round his waist and brought him to his threshing floor. P.w. 1 the officer -in -charge of Naikula P.S. arrived there at about 10 -30 A.M. and took over investigation of the case from p.w. 8.

(3.) THE prosecution examined 14 witnesses and the defence 12. Out of the witnesses p.w. 1 is the officer -in -charge of Naikula P.S., p.w. 2 is sale independent eye witness to the occurrence. p.w. 3 is the lady doctor who examined the injured p. ws. 1, 8, 9, and 13 and held the post mortem over the dead body of Damburdhar. P. ws. 4, 5,6 and 7 are formal seizure witnesses. P.w. 8 is the A.S.I. attached to Naikula P.S.. P. ws. 9 and 13 are the two Forest Guards. P. ws 10, 11 and 12 are the three constables present at the time of occurrence. P.w. 14, as already said, is the Circle Inspector and the investigating officer of the case. So far the d. ws. are concerned d. ws. 1 and 2 are accused 2 and 18 respectively. Some of the d. ws. have deposed to the alibi taken by some of the Appellants. D.w.11 is material in the sense that he is the sarpanch of the village and jimador of the logs and an eye witness to the occurrence.