JUDGMENT

K. Jayachandra Reddy, J. – This is an appeal under Section 2 of the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act read with Section 379, Cr. P.C. All the five accused (original accused Nos. 1 to 5) in the case are the appellants. They were tried for offences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 302/149 and 326/149, I.P.C. The trial court acquitted them. The State preferred an appeal and the High Court reversed the order of acquittal and convicted the accused for the said offences and sentenced them accordingly. The prosecution case is as follows:

2. Basappa son of Shankarappa Bagewadi and Murigeppa son of Dundappa Bagewadi, the two deceased persons in the case, the accused and the material witnesses are all related to each other. A-1 to A-4 are the residents of Village Mathur and A-5 is a resident of Village Kankanwadi, lamkhandi Taluk, Bijapur District. A-I to A-4 are the sons of one Kallyanappa and the two deceased persons were the sons of brother of Kallyanappa. A-5 is a friend and neighbouring cultivator of A-1 to A-4. Kallyanappa and his brothers divided the joint family properties and got separated a long time back except with regard .to the land in Survey No. 25. In the year 1975 when the Land Reforms Act came into force giving the rights of the cultivating tenants, Kallyanappa whose name had been entered in the record of rights as tenant of the said land, started claiming exclusive occupancy rights and made an application by himself for the grant of occupancy rights. He also started threatening his other brothers, filed a suit and obtained temporary injunction against them. The other brothers also made applications for the grant of occupancy rights in their names. By an order dated 13.10.1981, the Land Tribunal held that the brothers should be the joint tenants of the land and accordingly granted the occupancy rights in their favour. Thereafter, according to the prosecution case, the two deceased; their brothers and their uncles occupied the land forcibly, erected a nut in the land and started cultivating the same. There was a standing crop in the land. On 25.12.1981 the two deceased and their brothers and some others, in all 10 persons, went to the hut in the land in occupation of A-1 and threatened him not to cut the sugarcane crop or make any changes in the said land and while going away, they also threw away the articles in the hut. A-1 then went to the Police Station at Banahatti and made a complaint before P.W. 15 Head Constable Shivappa and a case was registered. P.W. 15 went to the Village and apprehended four of the ten persons named in the complaint. Later in the evening sometime before sunset while the deceased Murigeppa and P.Ws. 2 and 4 remained in the field, P.W. 1 and two others went to the village to bring food for others. At about 9 or 9.30 P.M. they returned to the land will the food. At about midnight when P.Ws. l to 3 were still sitting warming themselves near the fire, the two deceased and P.W. 4 were lying down on the ground feeling sleepy in front of the hut erected by them, A-1 to A-4 accompanied with A-5 went there armed with axes and sticks. AI and A-2 were armed with axes and A-3 to A-5 were armed with sticks. While A-1 assaulted deceased Murigeppa with the butt end of the axe, A-4 and A-5 assaulted P.Ws. 2 and 4 with the sticks in their hands. A-1 and A-2 also assaulted deceased Basappa and P.W. 3 with the butt end of the axes in their hands. P.W. 1 managed to run away and stood behind a tree and witnessed the occurrence. After so assaulting, the accused left the place. P.W. 1 came back to the scene of occurrence and found that the two deceased persons and P.Ws. 2 to 4 had sustained injuries. He went to the Village, informed his mother P.W. 7 and others, went to the Police Station and orally complained to P.W. 15, the Head Constable who reduced the complaint into writing. On the basis of the same, P.W. 15 registered the crime and issued the F.I.R. He went to the