- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court dismissing the appeal filed by the appellant. Learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Sangli, had convicted the appellant for offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the 'IPC ) and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- with default stipulation.
(3.) Prosecution version in a nutshell is as follows: The accused-appellant and one Shivaji Baba Lohar who was working with Keru (hereinafter referred to as the 'deceased ) were on inimical terms. Shivaji s sister was married to the accused. The accused had borrowed money from Shivaji which he had not returned. The accused used to visit Shivaji in the field owned by the deceased. Keru and his family knew the accused and would often give him agricultural produce from their lands since the accused was jobless. Shivaji demanded repayment of the loan he had advanced to the accused. The accused was annoyed by this and on 3.6.2000 he went to Keru s farm. Keru was asleep at a little distance from the rest of the members of his family. Shivaji was sleeping at another spot on the farm, a little further away from the family. The accused entered the farm before daybreak, at about 3 am. The dogs started barking and Maruti, the son of the deceased saw the accused beating the victim with a yoke. Maruti alerted Shivaji and they chased the accused, but he managed to escape their clutches. Maruti and Shivaji returned to the spot where the victim was lying. They found that his skull had been fractured and a part of his brain was protruding. Three fingers of his right hand were fractured and broken. His head and ears were bleeding. Maruti lodged a complaint with the police. The dead body of Keru was taken for the autopsy. The required panchanamas were drawn up and statements of witnesses were recorded. The accused was apprehended and charged for having committed an offence punishable under Section, 302 IPC. His trial was committed to Sessions. The Sessions Court after consideration of the evidence on record as noted above convicted the accused. Before the High Court the only stand was that the evidence of the so called eye witnesses PWs 1 and 4 cannot be relied upon. It was also submitted that a case under Section 302 IPC was not made out. The High Court found no substance in the plea and dismissed the appeal as afore- noted.;