JUDGMENT :

PUSHPA V. GANEDIWALA, J.

1. All these Appeals against conviction, preferred under Section 374 of the Code of CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE , 1973, are directed against the judgment and order dated 10.08.2018 passed by the I/c. Additional Sessions Judge, Mangrulpir (Camp at Washim) in Sessions Trial No. 44/2014, whereby the learned Judge convicted the appellants for the offences punishable under Sections 302 , 307, 147 and 148 read with Section 149 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE (“IPC”).

2. The appellants/accused are acquitted of the offences punishable under Section 120B of the IPC and Section 135 of the BOMBAY POLICE ACT (now ‘the Maharashtra Police Act 1951’) (Act of 1951). Accused No. 16 - Babusingh Ramji Rathod and accused No. 17 - Sadashiv Limbaji Jadhao are acquitted of all the offences punishable under Sections 302 , 307, 147 and 148 read with Section 149 of the IPC.For the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the IPC, the appellants/ accused are sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and fine of Rs. 3,000/- each, in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for one year. For the offence punishable under Section 307 read with Section 149 of the IPC, the appellants/ accused are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and fine of Rs. 2,000/- each, in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for one year (three counts).

For the offence punishable under Section 147 of the IPC, the appellants/accused are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year and fine of Rs. 500/- each, in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for one month.

For the offence punishable under Section 148 of the IPC, the appellants/accused are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years and fine of Rs. 500/- each, in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for two months.

All the aforementioned sentences are directed to run concurrently. The appellants/ accused have been given set-off for the period for which they were in jail.

3. In all 23 accused persons were tried before the Additional Sessions Court, Mangrulpir. In the incident of rioting, Devidas, his son Mukesh and nephew - Ganesh received injuries, while the son of Devidas, by name Avinash, succumbed to the injuries received to him.

4. As per the prosecution story, on 18.03.2014, on the eve of Holi festival, Devidas along with his two sons by name Avinash and Mukesh, had been to the house of his elder brother to take blessings of his mother (grandmother of Avinash and Mukesh). The accused Janardhan was playing DJ in front of the house of the elder brother of Devidas during ‘fagwa’ celebration. As the grandmother of the Avinash was not keeping well, Avinash asked Janardhan to stop playing DJ. There was a trivial quarrel between them. Thereafter, playing of DJ was stopped. At around 4:00 p.m. when Avinash along with his brother Mukesh, father Devidas and cousin Ganesh started to go to their house at Naik Nagar by a car, no sooner than they reached and alighted from the car, the accused persons