Judgment

KRISHNA IYER, J.:- The murder of an old man in broad day light occurred on 26th September, 1966, on a country road in Satara District and about seven years later the fluctuating fortunes of the two young persons charged with the crime are being finally set at rest. One of the misfortunes of our criminal process, which stultifies penal justice, is the counter - productive course of trial and appeal and appeal "at each remove a lengthening chain". The facts of the case have been set out fairly fully in the judgments of the High Court and the trial Court and for the purposes of this appeal it is sufficient to set out the story in its broad essentials.

2. The venue of the offence lies on a cart track connecting the villages of Bibi and Ghadgewadi. The dramatis personae are P.W. 8 Sita Ram, a somewhat consequential man of village Kadamwadi, his quondam servant, the deceased Hariba, the alleged assailants (accused) Shivaji and Lalasaheb, the eye-witness Vilas (P.W. 5) who is the Assistant Gram Sewak of the area, and others cast in lesser roles. There were some disputes between the 2nd accused and P.W. 8 Kadamwadi the place of residence of these two persons, is a little to the north of Ghadgewadi. About a mile to the south of Ghadgewadi is Bibi which is 4 furlongs further south of Kadam wadi. This topography is not very relevant except to follow the arguments accepted by the trial Judge. The quarrel between P.W. 8 and the second accused had been fostering since 1959 leading to reports to the police about threatened violence and 2 criminal case which ended in the acquittal of latter. There was no love lost between P.W. 8 and the first act cased either. For P.W. 10 (Bhagwan), one of the sons of the former, and his father-in-law who is a close relation of the first accused, were not on terms for reasons divergently given by the accused and Sita Ram blaming each other. Thus it is more or less the admitted case, and both the courts have found it established, that the accused and P.W. 8 were mutually at loggerheads during the relevant time. The deceased was in the service of P.W. 8 for a long while and although about 10 or 12 years ago he had left the service, his loyalty lasted all the time with the result that whenever Sita Ram requisitioned him he readily responded. In a sense it is common case that Hariba was a satellite of P.W. 8 and was, at about the time of the occurrence, an inmate of the house : P.W. 5 too was staying in P.W. 8 s house and must have been close to him as is evident from the residential nexus. On the ill-starred day, Hariba and Vilas set out to go to the weekly bazaar at Bibi after taking their food at about l0 or l0.30 a.m. They went to P. W. 5 s office at Ghadgewadi and proceeded to Bibi where Hariba did some shopping visiting P. W. 6 a shopkeeper and Shiva Ram, a carpenter. Later both of them started on their way back finishing their chores. The way lay along a cart track from Bibi to Ghadgewadi. One Dada also had accompanied them. Of course, it was a day of fair and people from the neighbouring villages going to and fro was not unnatural. While the three men were trekking back and were at some distance from Ghadgewadi the two accused turned up from behind and called out to Dada to stop. He obeyed and the other two went along. There upon the accused are alleged to have run and overtaken the deceased and P.W. 5 at the place known as Zamanacha Mala, Survey No. 8. Hariba, who was asked to stop, was set upon by the two assailants. Accused No. 2 drew his knife and silenced P.W. 5 by three of stabbing if he broke into raisin alarm. Soon after, the second accused dealt knife blows on the deceased on the head and eye-brow and accused No. 1 gave heavy strokes with a wire rope to which was attached a leaden ball described as a hunter by the witnesses. Hariba fell on the ground and the second accused kicked him as he lay. Dada was warned not to divulge and P. W. 5, similarly cautioned, was conducted by the assailants