JUDGMENT

B. Sudershan Reddy, J :

1. The appellants - Sangappa Sanganabasappa Murakachatti, Yamanappa Rudrappa Murakachatti and Pundalik Sanganabasappa Murakachatti (A-1, A-2 & A-4 respectively) along with four others were tried in Sessions Case No. 169 of 1995 by the Principal Sessions Judge, Bijapur for offences punishable under Sections 148, 302 and 506 (2) read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code (for short IPC). The learned Principal Sessions Judge, vide judgment dated 26th September, 1998 acquitted all the accused appellants of the aforesaid offences. The State of Karnataka preferred appeal under Section 378 (1) & (3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the order of acquittal before the High Court at Bangalore. A Division Bench of the High Court by the impugned judgment dated 1.4.2005, partly allowed the said appeal, setting aside the acquittal of the appellants herein and affirmed the acquittal in so far as the rest of the accused are concerned.

2. Against the said judgment of the High Court, the appellants have preferred the present Criminal Appeal under Section 379 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 read with Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970.

3. In order to consider as to whether the impugned judgment convicting the appellants herein for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC suffers from any infirmities requiring our interference, it may be just and necessary to briefly notice the prosecution case.

4. We shall refer to only such of the relevant facts and material evidence since the High Court has very meticulously analysed the entire evidence available on record by re- appreciating the same.

5. On 29.5.1995 at about 5.00 or 6.00 P.M, when Ningamma (PW-10) who is none other than the daughter of Basappa (PW-8) was returning home from the fields along with her brother Sadashiva (PW-11), Sangappa (A-1) made an attempt to outrage her modesty, but she was, however, rescued with the intervention of Chandrappa (PW- 7) and Bheemappa (PW-4). She went home and complained about the incident to the deceased Irappa who chastised Sangappa. On 2.6.1995 at about 11.00 a.m. in the morning when Laxman (PW-15) was in his fields looking after the sheep, Sangappa went there and assaulted Laxman with a stick over the issue of being chastised by his father - Irappa. Laxman on returning from the fields informed about the incident to his father - Irappa. Both Irappa and his brother Kenchappa (the other deceased) rushed to the garden land of Sangappa in order to enquire as to what transpired in the matter. That all the accused who were armed with deadly weapons questioned the propriety on the part of Irappa in coming to their place and making an inquiry about the incident of assault on his son. In the process Sangappa who was armed with jambiya inflicted injury on the abdomen of the deceased - Irappa and Yamanappa (A-2) inflicted injury over the head of the deceased with axe and in the meanwhile, the other accused Sangana Basappa (A-3), Rudrappa (A-5) and Smt. Bhagawwa (A-6) over powered the deceased - Kenchappa and assaulted him and at that point of time, Sangappa inflicted injury on the abdomen of deceased - Kenchappa. In the same process Pundalik (A-4) committed assault on Irappa and shouted that he should be finished. It is the case of the prosecution that even Pundalik, who was armed with axe, assaulted the deceased Irappa over his head. Basappa (PW-8) along with Siddappa (PW-9) and others tried to intervene in order to rescue the two deceased persons in vain as they were threatened by the accused with dire consequences. Basappa and Siddappa witnessed the incident as they were following the two deceased having come to know of the fact that the two deceased persons were proceeding to the garden land of Sangappa to inquire about the incident of assault on Laxman (PW-15). The incident in question had occurred at about 2.00 p.m. afternoon on 2.6.