Judgment

FAZAL ALI, J. :- This appeal by special leave is directed against a judgment of the Gujarat High Court by which the respondents had been acquitted of the charges framed against them and the conviction and sentences imposed on them were set aside.

2. The trial Court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Broach had convicted only A 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 13 (for facility, A indicates accused) and acquitted the other five accused who were placed for trial before the learned Judge. Apart from the convictions for individual offences, the aforesaid accused were convicted under S. 302 read with S. 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced to imprisonment for life plus a fine of Rs. 500/- and in default of the payment of fine, rigorous imprisonment for six months. At this stage, it is not necessary to give any detail of the other convictions because after hearing counsel for the parties and going through the judgments of the Courts below we are satisfied that so far as the charge under S. 302/149, IPC is concerned it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt and the High Court was clearly wrong in reversing the acquittal of the aforesaid accused under these sections.

3. This is a case in which two horrendous and ghastly murders were caused and several persons injured on almost insignificant and trivial issues. The facts of the prosecution case have been fully detailed in the judgments of the courts below and it is not necessary for us to restate the same all over again. Nevertheless, we may give a very brief summary of the background and immediate motive which resulted in this unfortunate occurrence.

4. The pivotal dispute centred around Darbar Musabhai Haji Umerji (for short, hereinafter referred to as Musabhai) who was elected uncontested as the Sarpanch of the village a few months before the occurrence. The prosecution case was that A-1 was also a rival candidate for the office of the Sarpanch but he was forced by the villagers to withdraw from the election in order that Musabhai may be elected uncontested. Perhaps A-1 must have felt seriously humiliated for having been compelled to withdraw from the election and this stigma of hostility had its roots in the bad blood between A-1 and his party and Musabhai. There was some evidence of the role played by some of the kolis headed by M. Kursan as a result of which Musabhai was given quite a few threats and the episode assumed a serious proportion when on 1-10-1973, i.e., 2 days before the occurrence, Musabhai lodged a report before the police at Vagra and the police tried to move the court to take proceedings against the kolis under S. 107, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 apprehending breach of peace. In his report before the police (Ex. 62) Musabhai had clearly expressed his apprehension that he along with his deputy sarpanch might be killed. As a result of the complaint, Magan Kursan was arrested under Section 151, Cr. P.C. and the complaint was sent to the taluqa Magistrate. The present occurrence is the upshot of the aforesaid incidents and has to be judged against the immediate background of the main occurrence. To cut the matter short on the 3rd of Oct. 1973, a mob of about 13 persons armed with dharia, guns and gandasas approached the house of Musabhai who fortunately was not there and in prosecution of the common object the mob assaulted Ahmed Ali Vagas (hereafter referred to as Ahmed) and murdered him near his house. The deceased Ahmed received as many as 26 incised injuries. During the course of the occurrence, Bai Fatma also received injuries which proved fatal and she also died at the spot and three more persons, viz. P. Ws. 7, 8 and 10 received serious injuries. P.W. 2 also received a minor injury having no external marks. The evidence against the respondents consisted of the injured eye-witnesses (P. Ws. 2, 7, 8 and 10) which was corroborated by the evidence of P.Ws. 3, 9, 11 and 12. Shorn of embellishments here and there or a few discrepancies of minor nature the