IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BANGALORE
Dated this the 3"' day of November, 2010 %
B efo re
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE HU1.Uv:4p1 G_.RAfi.fEvSH:: _ Q "
Criminal Appeal 1886 / 2003 C/w Crimifial Revis:£0ri<.Per'i:tio}i"
2oo4_:._
In Crl.A 1886/2003
Between:
1 T K Rajgopai, 32 yrs
S/0 late P N Krishnappa
2 Srinivas, 34 yrs: _ :_
S/0 M Govi1jd3pp_a?IfV_V_ " '
3 Chandiu, 28 M
S/0 M Go&vin_cI:1ppaV
4 Shivaji,25 y'rsj - V %
S/0 QO"v'indappa'» , _ " V
' Sid Eaie" P N Ktfishnagapa
" T. K "Ra
S/0"«3_ate N. K1-ishnappa
" " T K Reti'n2{chandra, 26 yrs
" S/V()L"l--z;1't:3 P N Krishnappa
3? K'Munir21ju, 34 yrs
" S/0 Eats P N Krishnappa
W
:i.'.'~.)
9 T H Rutire Gowda, 37 yrs
S/0 Halmme Gowtia
(By Sri M T Nanaiah Asst$., Adv. for 6 & 9;
Sri S K Venkata Raddy, Adv. for 2-4; Smt S
Susheela, Adv. for 1,5,7 & 8)
And.'
State of Karnataka -- by
Vidyaranyapura Police Station
Ban gaiore
(By Sri G M Srinivasa Reddy, GP') _
In Crl.RP 68/2004
N anjappa S/0 late RaI'[j1£l'E{'t"i:SI.'.1'1£1})[:.'._E1 g
Bhairaveshwara Ni_1.a--yav 4'
Sapthagiri Layout, "~/_idy:a1'atiVyapufia"1:': « '
Bangalore
(By Sri Satish G'Ra4ikar,'Ady:§y3\t'
And:
L S/oi iate"P_N ,I<~rjs'imappa
S/ON G-:_)vi1id'appa
" Chandru;"f%2 yrs
'. SV/(_) Govindappa
V $hivaji, 29 yrs
' '"S/() N Govindappa
§['¢_,/
.Re'spr5ndent
Ix.)
Appeiiants
Petitioner
S T K Devaraj, 34 yrs
Sfo T N Krishnappa
6 T K Raghu, 36 yrs
T N Krishnappa
7 T K Ramachandra, 30 yrs
S/0 T N Krishnappa
8 T K Muniraju, 38 yrs
S/0 Krishnappa
9 T H. Rudre Gowda, 41 yrs
S/0 Hanume Gowda
10 N Govindappa, 60 yrs s ;
Slo Moiappa _ '
11 M'NanjapDa,
S/0 M0tz1PDۤ{4 = '
12 R chafidpa§pa,'e4'y~§s"9«.9'
S/0Rama1eh » ,9
Rama_chandr'apura,V B;_1nge_l01'e'
1'3" _ C1"rij1:I392¢p?;;f-f?.:13'...r37 ---------- -« "
V 819 Ramajah'
A11'9_-are "z/5"«*3,£fhi§{¢iV:Vr;i Village
Bayngaiorey ' ' 9- Respondents
T Nans1vi99a';1 Assts., for R1,, 5~9;
"Sri'B 'V?eerappa'; Adv. for R2--4 & 10)
.9 is fiied under S374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure
'9:r.99p--r:1yingr§ to set aside the judgment and sentence dated 18.12.2003 and
' ' 1'9,V12;2003 in SC 336/1999 by the Fast Track Court II, Bangalore.
\W/
Revision is filed under S. 397 & 401, Cr.PC to enhance the
sentence awarded in SC 336/1999 on 18.12.2003 by the Fast Track
Court 11, Bangaiore.
The Appeai and Revision coming on for Hearing this '
delivered the following:
JUDGMENT
The appeal is directed against the order of the FaSVE”;1ft’30k.C(1’tlFiV’
r1, Bangalore City in sc 336/1999 on 181:I2._:2003 cdn~.zi.c’iin’g accused i
to 9 and sentencing them for the pnniis«h_ab_1e.under 144,
148, 506 B, 307 IPC to undergo i17npris–on.rnenta’n’dV.aiso«iihposing fine.
According ;tU the Vidyaranyapura Police filed
charge sheet against” thirteeinciciaccused before the Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate,};:B1anga1ore1ifo–r1the offences under S..143, 144, 148, 506 B,
307, ., As per the evidence on record, on 23.8.1997,
in connection in/ith-._th’e”spot inspection, the Deputy Cornmissioner had
visited land in “Sy.N§$.77 of Tindlu Viliage which according to PW 2 the
-._inju_1’e,d,’ was in his cultivation and occupation pursuant to the order of the
:_Land Trihunal granting occupancy rights. it appears, as per the defense
‘ ‘ version, against the order of the Land Tribunal, there was also a stay
9*”
order. The said land is an inam land of Anjaneya Devaru of Tindlu
Village of which the accused and other relatives are said to be owners
and got the land for the Temple since the time of their forefathers.
According to the defense, the villagers were using the land for theirright
of way to reach the temple. En this regard. there was a disputepyand»a:l’soja” V
public interest litigation was filed by some of the accused seeleiiigi’
direction to get the right of way to reach the ._W_hen’
Deputy Commissioner visited the spot, : he is saidto have-“made” soprnée»
inquiries. At that time, some scuffle is said to haveV”ta.keri -place, as per
the version of the prosecution iand defenses’-and,i”som.e persons were
injured. However; pm. in connection with
the morning incident(23;’8.Vl’?)97:)4 right of way over Sy.No.77 of
which the_f§njut*ed lirishnappa was in cultivation, it is alleged,
assaulted PW 2, PW 3 ~ Vishwanath
S/o Ki’ish-n_app’a<ar1d_ it W Nanjappa by deadly weapons like choppers
and clubsi""*–The_se accused 1 to 11 as well as the injured witnesses are the
of Tindlu Village. PW 1 Kariappa being the son–in–law of PW
It 2 _w~ho"can1e: to know about the morning incident and who is a resident of
T neigli'l'ioring village i.e., Kodigehalli, came to Tindlu Village and is said
to have witnessed the incident, lodged a complaint. Based on ___the
comptaint, the police registered a case against the accused for the"aht2–ve'–,V
said offences before PW 16 — Ramaiah who was thenjthe
Inspector of Vidyaranyapura Police Stati()n..»~~._The
registered around 8.10 pm. Later, he sent the ZFIRL-Q 3C
of offence on the next day morning andhco'n.ducteid" the "0ffeIi;C€
panchanama as per Ex.P2. ".E'he__ scene jAQfi:V{:3A'1?1;cnc.ejA of the
house of PW 2 _ Krishnappa ant1"tii:at.is'A'a_ 1piih.1_:e"';§§;iiV: crfrindiu Village.
On the spot, the investigating oi*t'ice"r– pieces, mud
samples and the statement of
several witnesses counter complaint under
S.107, Cr.i3C in.__Cripme agaisnt the injured and other
persons. Later, Hospital where the injured were
the statement of the injured persons.
He has also material objects i.e., more than 40, at the
_ii”‘Vii1stance o’f«..the V_a’c’cused; the blood stained clothes of the injured persons
one Tata Suhio vehicle under mahazar. He has also recorded the
V”._V”voluntarystatement oi’ the accused. Subsequently, investigation was
‘VVC.C:)’T§”l’plf.3~’.~V(E’,C1 by another investigating officer and he has filed the charge
sheet. Since the offence under S307, }PC is triable by the Sessions
Court, learned Magistrate committed the case to the Sessions Coartr.–.:”fi7he’
Fast Track Court IE on such assignment, held trial after frannng ‘7 ‘
against the accused since they pleaded not..gnil.!ey« ofy
offences. The prosecution in all, examined about iseventeen–.witnesses
and got marked about twenty six
D2 and MOs l to 47. However, “split against
the 14″‘ accused since he was heard the
arguments, while {iessions Court has
convicted accused;’l’to_~9V under S.l43, 144,
I48, 506 B and 3_O’_73 _yVAgai21st”~tne order of conviction and sentence
rendered by the ‘trial court, acc’used.are ‘before this Court in appeal.
Heard the counselVrepresenting the respective accused as also the
:’f:io*a,:e_rnrr:t3_1;i°r Pgulepader and the-eeunsel appearing for the revision petitioner
*4 I 2004 who is seeking for enhancement of
. Md
sentence awarded.’ ~ v
The specific allegation against the accused is that, on 23.8.1997
around 6.30 p..m. in front of the house. of PW 2 Krishnappa, the accuesed
being members of the unlawful assembly, attempted to comn1:it–.njuirciieéf
of Krishnappa holding deadly weapons like, iron rods,_.schloppe£s”and i
spade, threatened the injured with dire conseq3;ienceesg,l fTh.e accusedalso, f
dragged out Krishnappa from his car, abused himland”assaul.te7dthim’. 2
The argument of the appellant’s co.un::sel is that,’the”v1″‘–ancl”‘lO”‘
accused in order to protect the property o.f*t”ne.. have ‘filed-as public
interest litigation. Apart from that, ‘the villagers iriaking use of the
land in Sy.No}77 to Anjaneya Devaru Temple, which
land was claimedahy occupation and it is an inam
land. There was agdisptite in respect of the land in question as the
land tonbxlttzrai “D€}}2?…1’£}l}6IlE. As the injured and others were
oljstructingethej way in this regard, especially on the holy
Satutday in the~fioiitl1.io’3’7–lShravan, the people gathered there asserted the
.yiVright of way anclin itheiscuffle, some incident must have taken place and
_4l_fn_1allicated falsely and rather, the material
evidenee’«o_n record, clear that at the time of incident, more than
hundred .;;ierseo.n’s»–._wei*e._p_i:esen1 and even as per the spot mahazar and
,,,.,_,evidence’ ofisonie.ef_ the witnesses, there were several material objects
‘7’a__’likechoppei’s. and clubs found and, as is stated by one of the witnesses,
fitiielfe-,,wras:a a mob gathered and the incident has taken place in connection
9?”
10
with asserting right of way over the land in Sy.No.77, to reach the
Ternpie. it is also submitted, there is a delay in reaching the
at all the incident has taken place around 10.30 am. in whieh§’_:i5VV”i _
been injured as stated by him, there was no impediment for’the:fa,to’sfileVa
complaint even when the police came to their house.” .. in ctanneetioiri ,W«i.th<1i_'
the dispute over the Eand, complaint waziifiled by the iiiijjurediipersonjs and i
there is a case and counter case, In the___4ab:;ence_p of corroboration, the
version of these witnesses who va"r~¢.\i:§;ai,d'i~.to eye witnesses to
the incident, the version_rof_. the evidence on
record, is not iiiiithe offence.
It is further’ made out by the defense the way
in which the accused have several injuries must have been
found on pptheihegdy of Except one simple injury said to
the injured in the evening as per the medical
evideiiirqc-i;’i”.tly1e “veirz-;io1i.i’oi””the injured PW 3 himself falsifies the version
N that he hassuffered “injury in the morning. Even regarding shifting of the
touthe hospital is concerned, PW 9 has not supported the version
of_&the”.ih§ured. The injuries are not fatal in nature. Accordingly, it is
ll
submitted, the injured have sustained injuries in a commotion where
more than hundred people were gathered asserting right of way andjthe
overt act attributed against each of these accused falsifies the it
prosecution itself. Learned counsel also relied upon the
Supreme Court in Rehmat Vs State of Harj{ana…–h-Z All’
Criminal Law Reporter 231 wherein the Apex Court has i:.ei*a.;,. when
injuries suffered by the appellant is exuplainediiand also the
» 2′
-(,../«…U% .9?
® failed to name the as does inspire
the confidence of the court order was set
aside. Relying upon that the injured
themselves ttie.j>'[aoct<)r_' the history of the injury
suffered by thenijthat,' assaulted by strangers which
falsifies theécase of rather supports the version of the
jvirijuries taken place while the people were
asseri'injg"tfight""reach the Temple through the land that too on a
Saturday Viwheie devotees were good in number and they have asserted
'1'i.g§,'iit.jagaitnst injured PW 2 who was asserting right over the land in
"V que~s£ion 'asan occupant.
]”}
1.
Per contra, Government Pleader submitted, the evidence of the
injured who are witnesses to the incident, has to be believed aswtecthe
overt act attributed against the accused over PWs 2, 3 and
.r.’~:~i
injured persons. Except discrepancies here and there v<.,.–,c.h'fare"-in the vi"
nature of minor contradictions, the overt act attributed by them 'ag'ai;1st:.,.A
the accused is corroborating each othe.r.and__the accused ar-::'guil.ty of tlhel
offences. Rightly, the trial court has convicted andojsentenfced the
accused which does not call for int_e:rference;,_' . "
Counsel for the Revision P_etitioner' –_.j.l5W..U4'.__Nanjappa has
submitted that there is'i5t:~orrohorat,ipng evidence against the accused. PW
4, the injured hasbeen assaulted_4a"n_d"lre has sustained grievous injuries.
The senten:;e"avvarded-» bythe trial court has to be enhanced and the
accused have be punished rigorousiy and a lenient view shall not be
tal<en"." ._ , ,V
In the lightl'o.;i"the arguments advanced, the points that arise for
-. :consideration’ are :: C;/i,,..-~-
Whether the prosecution has proved the case against the accused beyond
reasonable doubt that the accused are guilty of the offences u11dert~Sl-/%’3′,~».vv
144, 148, 506 B, 307 IPC;
Whether the material evidence on record is stifficient to hold” accused
guilty of the offences with which they were charged;. 2
Whether the order of the trial court suffers–~from any error’i.or:«perversslty
in convicting and sentencing the accused. i
What order, if any.
At the outset, it would berelc»vant te_br_ieil’y_ the evidence of
each of these
PW l prime witness and he is none
other than the soh=.i_n–lvawi’ PW 2 who claims to be the
oc’c~u_pa11t uS’y.vNo..7’7 which is an inam land of Anajaneya
Dev–aru:of He has spoken about the complaint written by
‘ ” i…y_.Jo11e l\/Iunirajlu. I?ie'”hj_21s.5’21Eso stated that there is a land dispute between his
_fa’tl;f:r in law the Muzrai Department in respect of Sy.No.77. He has
‘f_”‘«alsoii_deposed to the effect that when the “Deputy Commissioner visited
in Sy.l\io.77 on 23.8.1997, his father in law has given a
Ed
statement before the Deputy Commissioner and he has stated that he
came to know ahout this fact. He also claims to he an eye witnesste._the
incident that has taken place in the evening and he is from _
neighboring Village. According to him, while 2 Krislinappaféwgii it
37”
Vishwanath and PW 4 Nanjappa came near theyhotiseygofliratishnappaiin :’_– at
Maruthi car, accused l to 10 came vl’l()l.t_iing cluhs and.’ic’l1opper
assaulted Krishnappa, Nanjappa and fell down
on sustaining head injury on Krishnappa also
sustained head injury and Vishwanath on his right
forearm. Later, loiie: Anand shifted the
injured Nanjavppal_’tt)l lie also states, at the time
of the incident; one Rajappa and another police
constable y-{ere iipreslenttpg spoken about the mahazar/panchanama
tie;E§~fi;:’At]1:’€i3..,g’¢enevoiloffence by the investigating officer of
Vidya:anyapt1’ra:’Police;. .
Inhis crogssaexainination, he has deposed that he came to know
.. iri’_j’:a«ho’u.t. the incident that took place in the morning only at 4.00 pm.
1~-.:lAccordVi.nglto him, he has admitted that there is a telephone in the house
W
J5
of Krishnappa and that he did not receive any phone call. Rather, he
ascertained the incident through his brother–in–1aw Venkatesh.
detail cross–examjnation, several contradictions were elicitedgf”Severai ;.
suggestions were also got denied, also to the effect that alt V’ ”
witnessed the incident on that day in the evening. ;é;uggestion :. .i
put to him. that he went to the police station oni”24li.i8.l997.fiiro1tnd
am. and gave complaint as per Ex.P1 ar:di’th_at he”di_dnot file the
complaint on 23.8.1997 aroundié-s,i_f’i:(‘ p.i_r1., denied. This
witness has also spoken about the of someiiarticiles ‘by the Police.
PW 2 is one .i to whom, the Land Tribunal
by its order, granted rights in Sy.No.77. According to
this witness. _ on itihexii date: of ithie incident, the Special Deputy
Colnrnissioinier Eliadvisiteidt .sy…No.77 and had made inquiry and he
ih:for_med’that iniipossession of Sy.No.77 since fifty years and when
the Die’puty_Cio1nifrxi,s_si.oi1e;’ asked him to submit the order passed by the
Tfli)t?_§’tai, he has handed over the order to the Village
.4i_if_Ap_cco:1Vntant the Revenue inspector and that the Deputy
{ ‘Coinimisisioher went back. Further, according to PW 2, when the Deputy
W
l6
Commissioner visited the land, about six accused were there and also
one Eayaramegowda was present. His son Vishwanath asked the accused,
.i.e., accused l,2,5,7,8 and .12 regarding speaking falsehood.7:biei”or§ev:-r,he _
Eeputy Commissioner that Sy.No.77 is not bein,gMcu1tiva_teti’b:}i{ ii
that time, the accused picked up a quarrel. He ha-sstated, at that”tim_e;reA;;Ve Al
accused 2,3,7,8 and 6 picked up choppers and spadeiiand 3 i
W» Vishwanath and so also, accused i, 5 strife and
son ran away from the spot. about filing a
complaint before the Vidyaranyapara._Efolice,piat it:i:né,e,’iiionce again the
accused attacked p A,/ihandra and Raj Gopal
went to the Heiihias stated that later, he and
Vishwanath wen.t_pi’to Police Station and lodged a
cornplaint.p:’,o,_];to, they have shifted the injured
{to He has also spoken in detail about
the oVe.rt*a_ct,1o’fv the accused. He states, the 2*” accused Szinivas
“go; down ‘frorn..__th’eTFata Sumo, took out a iron rod and smashed the front
the Marathi car. The 3″ accused Chandra also smashed the rear
ofiti1ce’l\/Earuthi car and the 1″‘ accused, held the hairs of Nanjappa
it and” dragged him out, Nanjappa felldown near the car and accused
>3?”
l,2,3,6 and 8 assaulted Nanjappa with chopper on his head, Ieft hand,
and back and caused injuries. The 2″‘; accused Srinivas was said to ‘be.
holding a chopper and rest of the accused assauited Nanjappa…w4ith:V”‘
rod. When this witness intervened, at that time, accused-C5, 8» it
assaulted him ie, the 6″‘ accused assaulted__hinfr__withlichopper ‘Genghis
head and other two accused assaulted him with an..iro?1 rod oinahis. back, f
Atso, he has given details as to the other accused assaulting-.iV’is.hwanath
and Nanjappa. According to him, tnevlilpoliceCconstables …were
present near the incident ran away from spot and ‘accused thinking
that Nanjappa is dead, also ran away frofrn thevi’sp_ot.._i”*..
In the cross~exVa.r’ii;itnaptii’on,”seye–r_al~ contradictions were eiicited and
also suggestions Wtzre made to theeffect that one Jayararne Gowda who
was preserjt atnthe spot.__toId the Deputy Commissioner that the High
Court has passed order against the order of the Land Tribunal and
local iiinspectioniiiirieedpnot be made, which he has admitted. He also
admitted. that Hiiigh Court has set aside the order of the Tribunal and
._:directe’d+ti)e Deputy Commissioner to conduct an inquiry. Also,
sttggestpioins were made that he quarreled with Iayarame Gowda,
{NV
18
Rajagopal and Devaraj and his son and himself assaulted them, which he
has denied. However, he admitted that Jayarame Gowda had
complaint against him and his son Vishwanath. He also admitted _
nearby the scene of incident, there is a hotel, residential. and it
shops and there are 500 residential houses at Ti-ndlu at
persons are residing at Tindlu. He also admitted that hee.’c’ontested for
Society elections and also won and, _i:ncidtint there
is a BTS bus depot. He has telephone in his
house in the year 1997. __A suggesfion ppgiopt the Special
Deputy Commissioner, give way to the
devotees to offering poojas. He has
admitted that acicasedl and public interest litigation before
the Court give oi’erTSy.No.77 to reach Anjaneya Swamy
pending. Also, a suggestion was got
denied toitheii thiatijecause of the misunderstanding between them
VSlI”lQC accused .l”am.l’ .10 had filed a public interest litigation before the
falsely implicated the accused. A suggestion was
l”«_'”al.s'(,-. m*a_de~ to him that when the accused smashed the car, he screamed
ithshelpibut, he has stated that none of the residents of the nearby locality
‘W
E9
or the people in the Hotel came near the spot. A suggestion was also got
denied that no such incident took place either in the morning or in the
evening and that the accused had not come to the spot armed with deadly
weapons and that they were not watching the moverrtents of this. ” V
and others. He has stated that he was treated at RMV Hos_pi’t’ai fofrfthiree”
days. Several omissions were also got marked. ;su.g’gestion_.VVtrgisvvalgolta
denied to the effect that in order to knock off the’ landin o.77′.’vt l
he had prevented the devotees of Anjaneva’ Swarny. _T’er:tplellr.passing
through the iand to reach the Al alsovrrtade that a
false complaint is filed against theflaccused demanding right
of way over deified.
PW 3 ~«7\/ishwanath A:_jis_i”th_e”‘s.or: of PW 2. He has also spoken
similar to that of father..PW’v_2lr’egarding witnessing the incident and
s:lustai–ning~—-injuries.”– xlele has”a'{so narrated the incident and the injuries
sustlainetlahlys ‘and_o_’ther injured persons. According to him, one
Devaraj Aasasaultetl hiniilwith a chopper on his left hand and Muniraju and
* «i..fjVChaml.ru assatI.i_t’ed with an iron rod on his back and legs. He has also
W
20
deposed that other accused have assautted Nanjappa with chopper on his
head and atso on the chest.
In the cross–examination, he has admitted that accused pet;s0–ns
did not prevent him and his father from going to the police st~ati.o_n., .
has also stated that when he got down from the i\/iaruthiHca_f’~aion.ig’~wiLhi
his father Krishnappa and Nanjappa, they didginotiscreairn foif .ftél13.s
the accused armed with deadly weapons surroundtid their he aiso*
has not requested the neighbors to rescuVe’hin1 and his father fsjona the
hands of the accused. A suggestiiéon is also got–. to the effect that
he sustained ‘injury. .n_io«torhi,i{e-,,accident and he has filed a faise
complaint in connivanee w.ith~hi;;,_fa’ther, to implicate the accused.
PW 4 _– Na4i’ijappaVV_i’v:s anottier injured witness who has spoken
sitniilat to’-t__hiat I”J\/A s 2 ‘According to him, after the assault in the
incident’, he fed_down_unconscious. He has stated, it is one Devaraj,
‘~….Chandra’a_nd some~5ai’e; accused who have smashed the front glass of
~ .i’_jt,he ‘Marathi Carfwith an iron rod. He regained conscious after fifteen
1fidays’–oi’a.the””incident at Maiiya Hospitai. According to him, the accused
2%
also tried to stop the car on the way and later, he drove the car near the
house of PW 2 Krishnappa and stopped the car and there the aeettsed
came in a Tata Sumo vehicle and, the accused 1 to 9 arrnetlw’ith’~-é.rQ’n:_.__’= _
rods and shoppers came near him and some aceused ha.’se”a–ss§t:il_te»d him l
with chopper on his head and left hand and also assaullteld.wi.th”-ironirodsg if
on the hand and on his back. .._V _ V V pp _
He has been cross–examined in deltaigl and seVerall”o:nissions were
also got marked. He has giVlen..,_a dleseription asllitoil who all
assaulted. A suggestion was also got rl_ei:iied tha_t«.thel.’aeeused 1 to 8 & I3
did not assault with e’hoppei’.,on«hi’s._head_’ and also on his left hand. He
has admitted several suggestions”regarding presence of several shops and
hotels nearthe se”ene”of’i’;1cid,en_t~.–‘and also a bus stop. It is also the
vsuggesticgiiti/fiihe defense,V___t_he. people of Tindlu Village had given a
{l)lG{‘Ilpl2:lii’1.E’Vt0_lli6i~l§t”~a{?CUSCd alleging that PW 2 Krishnappa was not
pass through the land in Sy.No.77 and
V ae_eording*–.to theldefense, PW 2 and himself being friends, have sustained
ll :v’.,l’lht3_L§Vfif;S in a road accident, which is denied. Also, a suggestion was got
(i–et1iead*to the effect that when an inquiry was made, at that time, he told
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22
the Doctor at Mallya Hospital that he had sustained injuries in the road
traffic accident.
One of the witness for seizure panchanatna has not ‘supj3e1’ted the
version of the prosecution and another charge :shc.e’t witness for:”et.he*<:;_r
seizure has not been examined by the prosecntionli'-V. 2 V _
PW 5 « K Ajjanna is the Police inspect'or who .fi1ed.charge sheet
after taking over charge of the front 'l'6~,..«the Inspecvtor who
conducted the investigation of the case._ i
PW 6 K__ soniof PW 2 and he has also
spoken about the tncidentinl and evening. He has stated that
when the incident atvthat time, people had assembled and
also place on seeing the people. Several
sugge'st.ion.s .w"e~re~~.got».i"de'nied and suggestions regarding the omissions
were made-. to this-.w'itness. A suggestion was also made to the effect
that _there_is enn:1ity between his father and the accused persons even
t'oVt'iie'al1ege.d incident in respect of Sy.No.77 which belongs to
W
23
Anjaneya Swamy Temple and in that connection, a false case was
against the accused persons.
PW 7 one Srinivas, according to the prosecution, is .Witf1eSE}.iuf(} ”
the incident but, he has not given any details as”to-the o–ccurrence of
incident. He was cross–examined by the puE1ic::.prosecu’tor. .. _”1″hoai:gh_.
some of the suggestions were admitted but he has is’tate~d”t’hat”he
has not given such statement before the p,o}’ice§’g_’–. A. ..
PW 8 one Gangappa, ‘~«.{{eadCQi1sta*Ebe., ‘”ac_cording to the
prosecution, was ptesen.t,a.t_the t«i._rtit:.,_of.inc’ident and has witnessed the
incident. In hiseyi4dencie;».he~h’as istiatedi that on the day of the incident,
while he was on,,.patro1’-dtttygihe learnt through some peopie that a gaiata
goingduon ?i’ron’t._of the house of Krishnappa and as such, he went
there “aiong ,lwith’~«.,Yen’l§aitachaiaiah, Police Constable. When he was
iiiiapproachintg the of office, the public cried as ‘police’ and about
ii_”i’;}_ir’rdred persons “had gathered at the spot. By the time he went there,
not there and he noticed that Nanjappa had sustained
linj’u’1ci_e–s’lon his head but, he did not see Krishnappa and Vishwanath at
336/
25
has stated, he has not seen the presence of people of nearby locality
assembled near the spot and that Nanjappa driving the Maruthi
near the spot and none else were there. He also admitted thatiiheididfiiolt _
ascertain the details as to the incident.
PW 10 ~ Muniraju is the scribe of the c’omplai:1vt.7._He’
about the smashing of the front glass of the Marut.hi”c.ar I’1€31%.t.1’E”.fif10l1SC:”(5fVi V
Krishnappa.
PW il Gangadhar is a..pancha«~~~for–.the_ seizluire-..0f–flseveral
incriminatinglgartieies”at .r__he.pinstaiice of the accused. He has not
supported the version oi”-se’izure”ot'”the articles by the police at the
instance of}.;hi”s accused. ., _ it V
PW___ VAVCYjh’andrashekar who treated Krishnappa at RMV
iiospitai and f:5und”‘that there is a lacerated wound over the scalp and
ewithe head with bleeding from the left ear. He has opined that
“V ther~inj’uri’es”are grievous in nature. Krishnappa is said to have told him
Vi V T thathe”was assaulted by the assailants on 23.8.1997. He has noted in the
W/
26
Wound Certificate that Krishnappa was assauited by strangers in the
viiiage at Tindiu and issued a certificate aceordingiy as at Ex.P8.
However, in the c:ros$–examination, he has opined that he cannot
say whether the margins of the wound at Si.No..E was a clean cut iiiijinry
or not. He has also stated that if a person is assaulted by a bh.:~nt4’ohj_e’e’t,.Vi” .
he may sustain a ciean cut injury or may not sustain a c1ean~–eutfiinjury.ii
He has stated that if a person is assauited by cluhi or ironi ‘rod, he _
suffer contusions on his person and maypaiso suffer fractu,re9.. HoWe\5’er’,V
he has opined that he has not found any con_tusi.ons o’r~.in.é’is~e:d wound on
PW 2 Krishnappa and”it.ha.t,_Vi£a’pei’son .fa’1is on a hard surface, injury E
and 2 can be eausedii Hie=hasr.Aad1ni’tt_edthat Krishnappa toid him that he
was assaulted’ by strarigersv at ‘§”indiu, based on the case records and
d’ischarge_psumrnaryZrizaintained in the hospital.
PW ‘V333 the Head Constable who has reg.ist’ered the
i “*~~–i_?.rR aroui1di2.3Gpi1n, an 23.8. :99? on the compiaint fiied by PW 2.
AV’
PW 14 is Dr Mali Manjunath who has treated Vishwanath S/o PW
2 Krishnappa and found laeerated injury over the left upper arm of
” skin deep and also opined that it is simple in nature and V,~;.«f§1′]T’\2fs2’8,I._’1″ci{.if’lr’.
was treated as an out patient and that the injuries could.ybe_'”eau;sed one
hour earlier to the treatment. According to this D_oct;or;_pheAl1a.s’*tre.at’edV_
Vishwanath around 7.30 p.m. and issued sic WoundCertifipcaieipiat I3x.}é9′;’vv ‘
PW 15 is or Raj Gopal who has a§a~:_¢d the injured”vl\la£oj’a”ppai at
Mallya Hospital on the intervening night”of..23f24tS.l99i7’and..found as
many as seven injuries -w on the parie’ta1’i’egi(Jn, _leftv”t1aitd, left wrist and
fracture of the 1’ighAtx’paVrieta«].p bot1e.___ He has opined that injury 8 —
tenderness on the left vvrist ‘aoar_t”froirifiinjuries 6 and 7, is grievous in
nature andhas issued a-»Wo’und Certificate at Ex.P10.
In crossexaniination; he has stated that he cannot give the
exaetflength the injuries and also could not say whether the
‘ injuries a.re’f.incisedfv;ound or lacerated wound and that he did not notice
contusion on the body of Nanjappa. He has admitted at E1-LP10 ~«
4’.._:”wou:id.certificate that there. is a struck off portion mentioning as ‘road
W”
28
traffic accident’ and also admitted the words ‘road traffic accident’ was
in his hand writing which was struck of and later written as ‘assaul.t.’i~-
also admitted that E.x.Pl0 was issued based on the
maintained in the hospital i.e., MLC Register.
PW 16 ~ Ramaiah is the investigating”officer. who-i’ha.s.i ‘spoken
about the investigation conducted, recoveries naadeland theg.fi1siln’g of the”; ‘
Charge sheet.
In the cross-examination, he hasp_.,ad’mi_tted that”‘S-1_07H,iCr.PC
proceedings was the accused persons as well as
against PW 2 that there was also instruction
git/gen for patrolling of the incident. Also, a suggestion
to know after the investigation that MOs
at l2–i:<§, novt"connected to this case. Also according to him,
iatthe timepf coi1tiue'ting search in the house of the accused, he secured
l.llt\tlie"h,'ii'«\i';£' .01' aiwioman constable and also he knew that when male
flliiielrnhersl"were not present in the house, he had to secure a woman
V for help and for searching. But, he has admitted that he has
29
not mentioned the name of the woman constable who has assisted. A
suggestion has been got denied to the effect that he has s_se~i_jz,ecl__
agricultural implements and kitchen items.
DW 1 was also examined on behalf of the
Nanjappa, aged about 80 years and he is arfiayedgglasivthe
According to him, accused l to 10 are ph’is_relative_sl’and the} ‘hp
is his brother in law and the 13″‘ accusediliislhis friend. «lie stated,
Anjaneya Swainy Temple was cons«truc–ted§.about2U0_to 300″ years back
and that he is born and brought \;=”;1.1agé’ ;_ar;*d that he is an
agriculturist. He has’j’s*tatedl.lonepipl’-lnarayaaiiaswamy Gowda was looking
after the management Narayanappa was the Archak
about thirty; years sonliérinivas Murthy was looking after the
‘to_vhim,vvélg.lNo.77 measuring L22 acres is a temple
inami”l.a_nd’__adjoini~n3g thel\n_janeya Swamy Temple and people used to go
to the Tef’nple.–__io’ (2f’l’er pooja, through the land in Sy.No.77 and the land
“ivs’i3eing c_ultiV’ated and, Ragi and other crops were grown. Except the
yield “f_ro’r’rr:1he land, there was no other income to the Temple and the
T la_4n”d”iniSy.No.77 stood in the name of Srinivasa lvlurthy, Archak. But,
W.
accué_}ed*
30
later in the year 197435, RTC was changed in the name of ?W 2
Krishnappa. However, the Tahsildar appointed thirteen person5;._llas.
Trustees to the temple in the year 1980 including DW 1.
him, Sy.No.77 was a valuable land and ?W 2 was iti ‘
declared as a grant, as an occupant. Against the order of the “I’ribun’al,..,,p_, f
writ petition was filed by Srinivasa Mmrthy ancllthe’ order»’tv3fAthe.Lahduil
Tribunal was set aside and matter ‘t5hel:i}I)eputy
Commissioner, Bangalore. to getthe entries
in the RTC in respect of He has stated,
the villagers of to reach the
Temple as PW 2 Krishnappa was
obstructing. The people and other devotees complained
ofxthe obstrpction this regard, a public interest litigation
the accused persons have been falsely
irnplic}:tc’d’__on complaint by PW 2 through his son in law.
has a.1.«;'<;—. stated,-oh 23.8.1997, himself and accused 10,12 and 13 had
Crhannakseshavaswainy Temple at Siddlaghatta in the morning
"i landeeaineback around £0.30 pm. This witness was also cross–exa1nined
iat–.le'n'gt'n to deny various statements.
W.
3E
As per the medical evidence, PW 2 has sustained two injuries and
as per the evidence of Dr Chandrashekar, there is one lacerated_’wo-und._
over the scalp and another injury over the left ear and the.-doc’tor;’has _
opined that they are grievous in nature. It is alsojpertiuezaf to note ithatas
per the MLC Register maintained, per the staterr1en::iofirP._W ij_’
he was assaulted by strangers in the village,” Thedoctor alsioificould not
give opinion whether the injuries mention_e._d”aVre=clean cut injury? or not.
He has also stated, he did not findijanyiior-_ wound over the
person of Krishnappa.
As to the i_njurieE’-;rs.u_stainedby PW 3 — son of PW 2, it is stated
there is one lacerapted wo:.1nd’ Aov,er=theV’1eft upper arm and the injury is
simple in nature and” would have been caused one hour prior to
exanainmgiirl :the”doctor. The doctor has examined the injured on
23.8. per the evidence of PW IS — Dr Rajagopai, he
has seen as rnany eight injuries and injury 2 and 3 were grievous in
etuheyviwere fracture to the parietai bone. The evidence of the
inj_ured._vvitness speak to the effect that all the accused have assaulted
T thern’;*
W
32
So far as seizure of weapons are concerned, except the evidence
of the investigating officer, independent witnesses have not supporhteda
the seizure of weapons from the house of the accused. Apart ;”f’ror:fi..’_tE1.nti., ;.
one more independent witness has not been examined regardi_n’g seiaure.
it is also admitted that the accused personsaare frorn Tind.llu’=Viilalgesa;i Al
Even PW 2 and 3 are the residents of Tindlu Villagei’w.vher.~.5as
resident of Kodigehalli, an adjoining villagei.*._i V ;
As could be seen, PW 2 has…sustaiAried’ttwo irguries but; the doctor
could not narrate as to the nature’ ofthe-injtiry__la’nCi’uthedescription to
arrive at a conclus_i-an lwhethei’. they are grievous in nature except stating
that they are grievous in nature. , PW 3 is shown to have sustained
only simple injuries. According to his version and also according to the
prosecputionl versi.on,”l<1e sustained injuries in the morning. However,
there is .also__ a iiricidventntalien place in the evening. So far as the morning
incident isl'eono.ernen"; complaint is said to have been filed. According
3, he hassustained injury in the morning but, evidencing the same
i there is2_no' inedicai evidence. However, the doctor who examined PW 3
' , _ ilf'olund"only simple injury on the left upper arm.
wfl
33
So far as injuries sustained by PW 4 Nanjappa is cor1cernedl”l;1e
has sustained many as eight injuries. As per the ad1nission..1n.ade
the cross–examination of Dr Rajagopal, first it is Wfi[[¢fl”l’fI’.VE)4i’P’3O -9
Wound Certificate that it was due to road traffic aecAide;nt«_an1d _
struck off and written as ‘by assault’. _rH_oweve*r. such entry. said’.to<
have been made based on the MLC maintaiinted at;:Maiiya
Hospital.
It is also pertinent to note thatiaccusied l___an’d_’ are said to have
filed a public interest”‘liti’gatic=n who was claiming
occupancy of Tindlu Village and
was obstmctingijpeyople ‘/iiiiyijaneya Swamy Temple through the
said Eand._;l’het..land inarnvland. It appears, the Archak of the
was there also filed a writ petition
wherein “the. o’rder,_of.:’tlie Tribunal was set aside and the matter was
remitted to th_e’De”puty Commissioner. In this connection, several
aresaid to have been given by PW 2 before the Deputy
Clomrnissioner and in this background, some scuffle is said to have
T tal{eri*place between the accused and PWs 2 and 3. As narrated by PWs
3%”
34
2 and 3 as regards the morning incident, they filed a cornpiaint and
according to them, PW 3 sustained injury. I.t is also their case thapéthey
accused assaulted them with clubs, chopper and stones._.§i_’iH’oxiJ_e-ver,r.-___
evidencing the morning incident and sustaining injuries;v~–there”*»is’no
medicai evidence much iess other evidence eorrobo.rating tAhe”sain:ei.___to~::Vei
believe the version of the injured witnesses««_.._V V V _.
So far as the evening incident eoncerned_,_ ‘allf.=thé.: injured
witnesses have spoken in unequivocal terms ‘regarding sustaining injuries
and the overt act of the accused statingtiiatdthey”ha”ve.:as_s_au1ted with iron
rod, chopperflandfl liif at..:ValiiV__as. narrated by these witnesses, if
thirteen accused “have mdiscriminately by weapons as
mentioned by then1;.inevcessa1’ilythere should have been several injuries
found onvfiie body: }iowev_er_,Nanjappa/PW 4 has sustained a fracture,
“agvper thyedii’i”ned’iie«al_e’videnoe, that may be due to assault or due to fall or
dueV’it.oVVa~ 1ri.ot’o*r._vehicl_e accident and it is not made clear by the
prosecution either fsby re–examining the witness to under what
~ «i..j’jve’i«rcu»mstance the Wound Certificate of PW 4 Nanjappa, the history
‘1.”‘«wa:~f_’writtenyas ‘road traffic accident’ and later struck of and written as
W
35
‘by assault’. The vivid description of the injuries sustained by PW 4 has
also not been properly explained.
It is also pertinent to note, the prosecution failed to “prove—t;i’te7..
recovery at the instance of these accused as the independent “w__itn.ess.vvhoe»
was examined has not supported the versio’n”oi”the ‘.pro.s«ecuti_enV. “Tlt
appears, as many as nearly 15 to 20 rnaterial”obl3’ects were recoveiiedf”
According to the prosecution, all these accused were ;§rine_d_: wigthlleither
chopper or pickaxe or clubs and”spade,»l’BurL:thereis no corresponding
injury found on the person to prove using’ ofilitiiesepvvveapoiis at the time of
commission of the ofifenee_.l_3yt«the.aceuse_d._’
It is also-the jcv’idence'”of thelponlice witness who was present at the
spot that more than htvindredlpersons had gathered near the scene of
cjifenvce 3£l_l[liQ_LIgh lil”e’l~..g=.–;«;..turned partially hostile to the version of
thel’prosecutio’n, laceolrding to him, the accused were not present. It is
to ‘be”noted,”éli_ere was previous enmity between the is’ and 10″‘
_li’e~..gccus_ed and The possibility of implicating these accused for the
‘heirro_lusyVof’i’ence cannot be ruled out. Even according to the description
36
given by PW 2 before the doctor, he is a resident of Ti.ndlu Viliage and
accused also are from Tindlu Village.
If really such an incident has taken place as is explained’
witnesses, there was no impediment for them to makeha ‘1’aen’tion ‘the?’
names of the assailants at the time of Iiarrating’t–he«_histor.y’–.of: the
incident. Of course, PW 1 — compla.ina11t wouldvhave :nemfioned’=thea. V
names of some of the accused- But, PW stated”th_at’the assault was
by strangers.
Further, according .to”the’de’fe1_1se version, the day of the incident
was a Saturday in the n:ointVh’vofi’~~Shp:avan and several devotees had
gathered and in the ..sct1ffle-.betwee.rr PW 2 and his men on the one side
Vartd._the d.¢siar¢§’s on the uo’th¢:.Ii._Sitie ~ might be some villagers, the injured
wouldih-ave _sAurstained injuries. Although they have given a vivid
descriptio1_1 ofkhe accused holding some weapon and assault, it is
n”‘”noticed, there .are_ corresponding injuries on the body. There are
» f’_j~emhellishment;s”:a11d exaggerations made by these witnesses to implicate
‘ the accused;
5%”
38
others, the evidence of these witnesses are shown to be little clumsytand
more contradictions are there which are not in the nature ;of-.imin_orf’
contradictions to over look to hold all the accused guilty
So far as the version of the cornp_l_ainant._PW l its”iconcerne:d,i.l
according to him, he is a witness to the and filed cornplaint.
But, it is also evident from his not explain the
individual overt act. Apart frorn– PW 8 Head
Constable is that, w.h.€l1:V ‘ofi’ence , none of the
accused were there; Might be that PW 8
turned liostile.:’:__Even i [has witnessed the incident as
stated by him, was no for him to give the minimum
details as tciithei.overt the accused and that itself shows that he
would,An’ot._,be an A’w.itness to the incident. The ‘$1-{I16I’l{i0I1il1g of the
names’ 0f”th_e« assa’i_l:1i1ts:;’iii” the t that too filed after 2. % hours of
the inciderit” by =§,_::oing”ito the police station, without filing the complaint at
dtlieiispot thouglithe police had arrived at the spot on such information by
4*._vPWf_.8;’-throws suspicion on the version of the complainant as to the
H ‘ involvemeiit of these accused.
W.
39
Further, the evidence of PWs 2 and 3 is contradictory to the
evidence of PW 4. According to PW 3, the accused came in
Sumo Vehicle and dragged out PW 4 from the Maruthi _
version of PW 4 is, he got down from the car along w_i–t’i1’PW*s p2’=andA 3.__ it
The version of PWs 2 and 3 is as if the accused have ?.relngei*ulIy di’ag,_gec!:;Vs it
out PW 4 from the car. This verszionahas been’contradi’c.t§3d_bygthel
version of PW 4 himself. Further, to PW.’3i.:t_he Isiiacciised
instigated others to finish of PW»?l:7but,’i«_ac:i;(3rdi’ng»to”PW 4, the 10″‘ and
11″‘ accused instigated others ffilere also there is
contradictory versionl–..,Vby:P’\7_f{‘s.3’«andjéi. to PW 2, the 1″
accused heldighe tI1_Aftof’vPW:’4palidiildragged him out of the car and PW 4
fell down is notisinalported.hy~the_ of PW 4 injured himseif.
As noted earlier; I.hpe’V-.vei*.sior{ of PW3 injured .is that he sustained
,injuri_es £ll€;_Ai.f:1Ci€l§3nt thlat”u*c*c’ur1’ed at 10.30 am. on 23.8.1997 but, no
medical je”vi.dence..’i’:;.j_Vproduced supporting the same. The wound
Vi”n….certificate_ llissuedllivttlnthe doctor who examined him in the evening
..liji’_j.:egarding the incident that took place in the evening shows that PW 3
“.._:l’h.ad”‘o_iiiy one simple injury on the left forearm. This shows there is
40
exaggeration. A suggestion is also got denied to the effect that he___is a
motor cycle racer and he would have met with an accident and s.i_ista:i_ned–_
injuries. But, the manner in which PW 3 has narrated the..Airicideii’t-iihati'”: ‘
is, if really all the accused have assaulted the_.in§u.red, there “\’a’v’il:)t.?.ll..’.ll.V’l’1’_f’;1″m(C
been several injuries much less fatal injuries. ‘”‘vEx(:’eptionesiriiple ji11jur.v;7T.A
..
there are no other injuries and that showsfthe accused have been falriely
implicated in this case. The version that_Athej§accused
have attacked the injured and choppers. If
an attack as stated by 2 more fatal
injuries would begthereg. weapons by the
investigating _th-emziccused have also not been.
proved much is iiot as to the fact that there were
blood stainsongggthel .welei;xjo’1iS prodiiiced. The 1″ accused is said to have
theE”‘ifolti:1itary given by him and as per S.27 of the
Evide’nceI’_Act,”-;it’*has no.-vevident.iary value and, if at all several material
lilobjects like choppers and iron rods were there at the scene of offence as
by onewof the witnesses, seizing of all the weapons by {he
investigating officer which are, in all 34 in number, would improbablise
OLE’.
41
the case of the prosecution. Was it practically possible for these l.3__–l4
accused to bring about 34 material objections to commit the of’fe;1ce–?1?.j”~«.V””
PW 6 who is the brother of PW 3 and son of PW 2 has _
the effect that the 14″‘ accused assaulted the injured, paiso 4-his it
evidence that the 1″ accused pulled down 4;_fr.orii ‘the: Martitliiii’-CaiI;;Va_ei
but, nothing has been whispered by PW -4__ in this regard.c.’vAiccordi11gi§ told
this PW 6, accused 10 to 13 were standi1ig.at any distance ifrnornvfthe spot
and that the 14″‘ accused assaultcdii’ Adilinziét.ithe_’lvv4*’i?1Ccused a split UP
chare sheet is filed and heis absconding. VAccior§:Ii’ng:t’o, 6, accused 7
and 8 assaulted PW 3″ivit.hvchoppei;.,.__If both of them have assaulted as
explained by ii.i1n,’– then, there should have been severai
injuries. His evidence”aIso’.caiu_1ot~~–be believed. It is even his evidence
that the l-413;: accused has assaulted on the head of his father. As regards
shifting.ot’P”the ;’ii.njtIre’dy_.is concerned, he has stated, his father and brother
V’ishxvjaiiath’xvereytalcenviiin a Tata Sumo to the hospital and that PW l
ih*–..___Kvariapna in the Tata Sumo of one Anand. But, the
7_version of ifirtanyd aitogether different regarding the shifting of the
LiVrij1it1’f;d.’r Further, according to the injured witness, the Maruthi Car was
31/
<12
damaged but, that has not been seized under rhahzar nor it has been
produced so as to identify having regard to the evidence ice: in.
prosecution witness. Even the version of PW 9 is that, he didfitot seevihthe b *
accused persons in the Tata Sumo but, he has _onEy__seen'soihete.chojjper.$
in the hands of some persons who came to ih the. Tata
Krishnappa and Vishwanath, PWs 2 were ~iVi "QS
Ramaiah Hospital and so also PWJ4 Nanjapgaa}"gv.PVJ_.4 'adimitted in his
crossexarnination that he and .and– Such being the
case, had the incident reaiiy occurred have turned
hostile to the version as and the overt act of
the accused.
Accoi:di’ng. to .Vthe.__e’videnV’ce of Dr. Raj Gopal – PW 15, the
pos.sibiii.ty Pwbgnljisusgtaining injury due to a road traffic accident aiso
is not “1’u_ie-id out; :°*Apartv»’i’rom that, as noticed in the wound certificate
issued as we-ii as.”the»e;ntry in the MLC Register, the history was recorded
traffic accident and this had been struck of and written as ‘by
“‘£’h’at also throws doubt on the Version of the prosecution. One
V’ V of–«the”panch witness for the seizure of as many as forty four articles has
?r*”/
43
turned hostile to the version of the prosecution. The recording of
statement of PW 4 by the police is shown to be after thirty five.._ol7_
the alleged incident although he regained consciousness __i'{nrne:dia:telyi'”t——1lor
after one or two weeks of the incident. Even .t.he_FSL;lreploitjaslitoythe
presence of blood stains identifying the persons’ blo_’od’Vor is
the blood stains on material objects’ia_re*~..not made ayaivlable””‘oy. the
prosecution.
Might be some semblance of_* evidence is there on record
regarding the accused assaulting the But, the version
of the injured juot above doubt and several
embellishmentsarethere. The background on which
the incidentiharzrytakeln place the morning of 23.8.1997 is, there was a
Commissioner in respect of Sy._No.77
whiclh”-is property of Anjaneya Swamy Temple given
the farnily t:_:l”a:-otiuised l to 1] during the time of their forefathers,
.4 ginjured PW 2 is said to have got entered i.n his name and the
t’he*Land Tribunal has been set aside subsequently in the writ
llpetui’tion’*l’iled by the Archak of the Temple and in that connection, the
44
Deputy Commissioner had visited the land .in Sy.No.’/7. Might be, some
incident has taken place but that is not enough to connect the accusied_’t~o_
hold guilty of the accused. The connecting iinks/evidenceairei’rtti.’s’si:ig-‘1′ _
and there are doubtful circumstances made “out by.”the’~d_efeii1wse*_to
disbelieve the version of the prosecution. The prclihciipleiicis,”prosecu’ti.onij_’
must be abie to prove beyond reasonable-._doubti’thal thei’iaccu’se.dyyyhave
committed the offence with which they arecliarged. T’here_ is scope for
entertaining a doubt as to the veracity of iin”Je’:+tigation and also the
seizure of the weapons match less”th’e– the sustained by
the injured and also of-syustainin.gi theiinjuries due to a road
traffic accident .th’eHentry in the MLC Register
which was as ‘by assauit’. As per
the ratio laid down decisihcnitelied upon by the appellant’s counsel.
cited the complainant has faiied to mention
the narneis oft on-e..–v’accused while lodging the complaint and this
avspect does not’i’ri:~i_o’it’e the confidence of the court to hold that these are
if H ” ”the—- persons involved in the commission of the offence in the background
there’ was also a iand dispute between the accused on the one side
if thevinjured on the other side. Might be the injured have sustained
45
injuries but, to connect the accused and to prove the case beyond
reasonable doubt, there is short of evidence. The nommentioning.oi’~.the_
names of the accused as the assailants in the complaint filedfl-aiill ~
to the case. –
The trial court has noted that PW 1 coh1p]a.inatit isthe sori4’§n’-.l_aw;c .l
of PW 2 and an eye witness to the incident and it has nc.ted,f_as_V_per_i§theh
evidence of PW 1., accused ] to 9 came to spot armed \’2vithV}Machhu
and sticks and that he, along vVvit_hiFone’l._An_and’,*–..w-as”standing inside the
compound of the houseaof KrishnvapipaVand__at’t~hat”tithe, Krishnappa,
Vishwanath and Nanjappastiere’ getting down from the car and accused 1
to 9 came in ad Talta, Sumo uac.c”o’rding to him, the 1*” accused told
other persons to assau.ltlKrish’nappa, Vishwanath and Nanjappa with
v’w.eaVp:on.s,’Vlx”court has noted that PW 1 did not state that accused
10 to ._li5__were:”prese’nvt””at the place of the occurrence and instigated
ac-fcused ll”-to toassault Krishhappa, Vishwanath and Nanjappa. The
“tria1,’court, noting PW 3 Vishwanath in his evidence has no where
I’ :;t_ated’.that”accused l0–l3 were present at the spot and instigated accused
W’
46
l to 9 to assault PW 2 Krishnappa and PW 4 Nanjappa, acquitted
accused 10» 1 3.
lt is pertinent to note that in the cross–examination of PW * V
specifically stated that he could not say what is the overt__act_oi each of
the accused i.e., accused 1. to 9. Apart from that,»thc.elvidence_.’c-.fVPWl”8
also speaks to the fact that PW 1 came to the soon :a::tfiei”‘he w,en’t. ll
there. By that time, the accused were notpelpltiiere. PW has
turned hostile but, the very fact.th’atp_PW’ eitarninationiitsell’ could
not say the individual overt act of ‘l~accufseid’ l_–~to”‘§jat’_’the time of the
incident. If he had really…witneé:.sed__the incident, he could have at least
mentioned about, the overt “act _oi”«,sorne of the accused regarding the
blows on the i.njured,”»w_lithl what weapon and on which portion of the
“body; liairssifies that he could not have witnessed the incident.
Aisoil’the’~lv_ery”fact.,tha.t’at the time of the incident, police constables were
also present and immediately the Circle inspector of Vidyaranayapura
V’?oiicleAS.tation’also came to the scene of offence and, nothing prevented
ll tc. a complaint with the inspector then and there, shows there
i was”scope for PW” l to implicate the accused. as an after thought. The
W
47
trial court has simply believed the version of PW 1 to treat him as an
eye witness to the incident
Even the version of PW 9 M Anand said.to__be anieye–:’witiriess.st0
the incident and a friend of Vishwanath — PW is,f_he~ White eoiiourii./_i
Tata Sumo and at that time, the Marut_h”i~._Car Bel.ongingi..¢tofljsianjappa
came on the road near the house of “found niiimber of
persons in the Tata Sumo and ‘”nnth:Vi.Ieapons. But, he
has not mentioned the n_arne_s the he states that
Krishnappa, Vishvraniathp and had sustained
injuries. The trial. eoiujt.1ay,eniphasis.01: the evidence of this witness
also. But, he has i’ai1ed=to “nien_tionii’tiie names of the assailants despite
the fact thagtiheis a friend ‘of Vishwanath.
inv.’Vp_th~e ;_c:ircumstariCes,—–the trial Court has simply relied on the
evidenceiofti 1i’anVd=.9 to hold that the accused have assaulted the
i v’=….v.injuredi ‘despite_th’e’i.§’a}et that PW 1 has pleaded his ignorance as to the
– ifgoyertp act of theiaecused and, PW 9 has not whispered anything about the
asi=2iult.ing the injured despite both of them claim to be eye
xiv”
49
whether the incident has taken ptace as is narrated by them or due to
some other reason or whether they sustained injuries because ofxthe act
of strangers who had gathered on the day of the incident to offer _
Anajaneya Swaniy Temple and who were obstructed by’? iniusingvpi ”
the tand in Sy.No.7’7 to reach the Temple.
In view of the discussion made above, a1.though it doubted V
that the injured have sustained injuries incidet’it,_ thedfactfthat near
the scene of offence more than hundretiiiperisons gatheredgcannot be
lost sight of and, the witnesses whothavei’deposed”bei7Qre the Court have
spoken to the effect th.at..;_1_one “the villagers have arrived at the spot,
and coupled withthe ‘evid’enee_”‘of_”FW 8 «M Head Constable who was
present atgthccscene ‘offence that more than hundred persons had
V”gathered_xat th’e:spo’t«,,_’clearly speak to the fact that some other persons
were” also pz’esent’. [They were not examined except one or two, to
narrate about the incident.
‘._V1’_n”the circumstances, extending the benefit of doubt and also
–ho’1d’ing that the prosecution has failed to establish the case. against the
ta”
so
accused beyond reasonable doubt, the accused are acquitted of the
offences with which they are charged. Their bail bond stands Cargcellled.
The material objects be destroyed. The fine amount be returned’ affteiri ‘4
appeal time is over.
Appeal is allowed. The Revision Petititm–fi1ed–‘_:by_:PWv ll
dismissed. v, ,
