DEEPAK BHIKAJI DHARMALE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
LAWS(SC)-2002-7-36
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Decided on July 17,2002

DEEPAK BHIKAJI DHARMALE Appellant
VERSUS
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Respondents


Cited Judgements :-

MANIK GANPATRAO TAIWADE VS. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA [LAWS(BOM)-2008-9-154] [REFERRED TO]


JUDGEMENT

- (1.)This appeal is directed against the order of the High Court, confirming the order of conviction and sentence passed by the additional sessions Judge, amravati, holding the appellant guilty for the offence punishable under section 302 ipc in relation to deceased Deepak sawade and for the offence punishable under section 324 IPC for causing injuries by knife to Shamlal, the father of the deceased On the first count, the appellant has been sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of rs. 1000/- and on the second count, he was sentenced to imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/-
(2.)The case of the prosecution, as emerged in the trial, stated in brief is that deceased Deepak Sawade on 20. 11.1993 at 5. 00 p. m. was sitting near some temple in Belpura locality of amravati city The deceased had in his hand a receipt book titled as 'gurudeo sewa' and he was collecting Rs. 2/- or rs. 5/- from the people by standing in front of Vijay Kirana stores. The appellant objected for such collection. The deceased did not agree and continued to collect the same. Thereafter abuses were exchanged resulting in scuffle. In the meanwhile Shamlal father of the deceased tried to intervene and suffered some injury. There was a sudden scuffle between the appellant and the deceased. In that scuffle, the appellant took out the knife from his waist and assaulted the deceased on the chest as well as on the hand. As a result, the deceased fell down. He was removed to the hospital where he succumbed to injuries and died. The father of the deceased Shamlal gave a report of this incident to the police at about 5.30 p. m. The appellant was arrested on the same day. It may be mentioned here that in the scuffle the appellant also had received two incised injuries on his head During the trial, the prosecution examined witnesses to the incident as well as the formal witnesses, including the doctor. The learned sessions judge on appreciating the evidence brought on record, found the appellant guilty of the offences and convicted him for the same as stated above. The aggrieved appellant approached the High Court in appeal. The High Court on re-appreciation of evidence, did not find any reason or ground to interfere with the order of conviction and sentence passed by the learned sessions judge Consequently, the appeal was dismissed. Hence, this appeal.
(3.)The learned counsel for the appellant initially made efforts to point out certain so-called discrepancies and infirmities in the evidence of the prosecution. However, on finding it difficult to show that the findings recorded by the learned sessions judge as well as the High Court on proper appreciation of evidence were either perverse or arbitrary or untenable, the learned counsel made submissions that having regard to the facts and circumstances of the prosecution story itself, the conviction of the appellant under section 302 IPC cannot be sustained and justified; at best, the conviction of the appellant can be sustained under section 304 part-II of the ipc. In support of this submission, she contended that there was no enmity between the appellant and the deceased; there is nothing to show that there was any pre-meditation to kill the deceased; it is also the case of the prosecution that there was a scuffle between the appellant and the deceased and that the appellant assaulted the deceased at the spur of the moment all of a sudden. She further submitted that the appellant himself suffered two incised injuries on the head in the scuffle.


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