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IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY
Vishnu Sahai R.G. Vaidyanatha, JJ.
Sujit Gulab Sohatre and others ... Appellants.
Versus
The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent.
Criminal Appeal No. 114 of 1994, decided on 18-4-1996.
Adocates appeared:
S.R. Chitnis with S.V. Kotwal, for appellants.
S.R. Borulkar, for the respondent.
Where in a case there is the sole evidence of the injured witness against the accused and if it is shown that there is material infirmity and falsity in some part of his evidence, then it will not be at all safe to convict the accused solely on the evidence of the injured witness relying upon the eye-witnesss accounts given by him without independent corroboration by material evidence.
Section 27 - Recoveries from places accessible to all and sundry-Not Incriminating evidence.
Section 134-Conviction-Can be based on statement of solitary eye-witness.
In view of the provision contained in Section 134 of the Indian Evidence Act which provides that "No particular number of witnesses shall in any case be required for the proof of any fact", it is permissible for a Court to record/sustain a conviction on the evidence of a solitary eye-witness. Thus provision is based on the principle that evidence is to be weighed and not counted. But the same can only be done if evidence is cogent, implicit, reliable and in tune with probabilities.
(i) Under section 302 read with 149 IPC to imprisonment for life;
(ii) Under section 148 IPC to suffer 6 months rigorous imprisonment;
(iii) Under section 147 IPC to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 3 months.
The sentences of the Appellants were ordered to run concurrently.
Hence this appeal.
2. The prosecution case in brief runs as under:
Suresh Kamble, P.W. 2, the deceased Babu @ Suraj and Gajanan Jadhav were friends. On the evening of 23.4.1991 the three of them had gone to Municipal garden in Panvel. They sat there till about 7.p.m. and thereafter returned to the house of Gajanan. They sat at Gajanan's house till 9 p.m. Thereafter they left for attending the Haldi function at the house of one Dattatraya Mahase. When they reached near Datta Hotel, Suresh Kamble and Gajanan Jadhav asked the deceased Babu to go the House of Mahase and see whether he was there. At that time appellants Sujit, Manoj, Ravi, Raju and Naresh were coming from cinema and were looking towards them in anger. After these appellants left, Babu came and informed that Dattatraya Mahase was not at his house. Consequently Babu, Suresh Kamble and Gajanan Jadhav returned to the house of Gajanan in a rickshaw. After leaving Gajanan at his house Suresh and Babu returned to their house. After some time both Suresh Kamble and Babu started seeing a film on video at the house of one Gopal Gaikwad. After some time (at about mid night) Babu told Suresh to accompany him for easing. Hence both of them went to ease on the path way near the place where a new building was being constructed. While they were returning after easing the appellants attacked them. Appellant Manoj had a knife, Sujit a sword, stick and the remaining persons viz. Kailash, Ravi, Raju and Naresh had sticks. First all six of them assaulted both Suresh and the deceased Babu. Thereafter all of them started assaulting the deceased Babu. While appellant Manoj was trying to assault Babu, Suresh Kamble caught hold of his hand and during the scuffle he received injuries from the knife which was in the hands of Manoj. Suresh Kamble got frightened and thereafter ran to the house of the deceased which was situate near the place of the incident. He informed about the incident to the mother and brother of the deceased one Prakash alias Sunil P.W. 3. Thereafter all of them returned to the place of the incident. The deceased was then saying "Oh mother save me". Thereafter they took the deceased to Municipal Dispensary, Panvel which was situated nearby. Sunil and Suresh Kamble went to Panvel Police Station to lodge FIR. Instead of lodging the FIR the police immediately rushed to Panvel Municipal Dispensary. There Suresh Kamble and others learnt that the deceased had died at about 12.0'clock.
3. The FIR of the incident was recorded by P.I. Anil Tamaichekar, P.W. 8 at Panvel Municipal Dispensary on the facts furnished by Suresh Kamble, P.W. 2. On the basis of the FIR, C.R. No. 129 of 1991 was registered at Panvel Police Station.
4. The injuries of Babu @ Suraj and Suresh Kamble P.W. 2 were medically examined on 24.4.1991 at 12.15 a.m. and 12.45 a.m. respectively at Panvel Municipal Dispensary by Dr. Ramarao Tukaram Kendre, P.W. 7.
On the person of Babu @ Suraj the doctor found four stab wounds and two incised wounds.
On the person of Suresh Kamble the Doctor found two incised wounds which were situate over the left middle finger, proximal phalaynx and left index finger, middle phalaynx respectively.
5. In the medical case papers the Doctor also mentioned about the history of the injuries of the victims. In the injury report of Babu @ Suraj, he has mentioned that the history given out was assault by two persons viz. Manoj and Ravi. In the injury report of Suresh Kambl
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