Judgment

Pattanaik, J.-The three appellants, who are accused Nos. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, along with 3 others who have not preferred any appeal were tried by the learned Additional Judge, Nagpur in Sessions Case No. 70 of 1990 for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 148 and 302 read with Section 149 Indian Penal Code on the allegation that they formed an unlawful assembly and mercilessly assaulted deceased Raju by means of Gupti, knife, hockey sticks and motor-cycle chain on account of which Raju succumbed to injuries sustained by him. The learned Sessions Judge on the basis of the prosecution evidence con­victed all of them under Sections 147, 148 and 302 read with Section 149 Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to suffer R.I. for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 100/- and, in default to suffer R.I, for one week for conviction under Section 147, and for Section 148 sentenced each one of them to suffer R.I. for two years and to pay a fine of Rs. 100/- each and, in default to suffer R.I. for one week and imprisonment for life for the conviction under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC with the further direction that the sentences would run concurrently. Against the conviction and sentences two Criminal Appeals were preferred; one by the present appellants which was regis­tered as Criminal Appeal No. 237 of 1991 and the other by the rest 3 accused persons which was registered as Criminal Appeal No. 227 of 1991 and both the appeals were heard and were disposed of by the common impugned judgment and the learned Judges of Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, dismissed both the appeals and maintained the conviction and sentences imposed upon the accused persons. As has been stated earlier, only 3 of the appellants have preferred the appeals whereas other 3 accused persons have not preferred any appeal.

2. The prosecution case in nutshell is that the 3 appellants are all brothers and the other 3 accused persons who have not preferred any appeal are their friends. The appellants have their houses in front of the house of deceased Raju. The appellants belong to one political organisation called ‘Chhatrapati Sena’ and deceased Raju also was a member of the said organisation. But during the election of Legisla­tive Assembly in the year 1989 deceased Raju carried the propaganda for the candidate belonging to Congress (I) and on account of this incident the relationship between the accused persons and deceased Raju was strained. On 18.4.1990 at about 9.00 p.m. while deceased and his parents P.Ws. 1 and 8 and one Pitamber were sitting on the terrace of their house accused Nos. 1 to 6 came out of the house of accused No. 4 and went to the house of one Shirkhande which is infact right in front of the house of decceased Raju. All of them then entered into the courtyard and abused Raju and challenged him to come down to the courtyard. When Raju came down, Accused No. 4 caught hold of the right hand of deceased and dragged him outside the courtyard whereafter all of them together took him to the front house of Shrikhande. Accused No. 1 was holding a Gupti, accused No. 2 was holding a stick and accused No. 3 was holding a motorcycle chain while accused No. 4 was having a hockey stick and accused Nos. 5 and 6 were having knife with them. As per the prosecution case the accused persons surrounded deceased Raju and assaulted him by giving blows with the weapons in their hands on account of which Raju fell down on the ground but notwithstanding the same the accused persons continued inflicting blows on him as a result of which he died on the spot. It is also the prosecution case that P.Ws. 1 and 8 followed Raju and when P.W. 8 requested the accused persons not to assault Raju she was pushed aside. After the accused persons left the scene of occurrence the parents of the deceased cried for help when people from the village gathered and then father of the deceased, P.W. 1 went to the Police Station and lodged a report which was treated as F