The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the cause of death and the nature of injuries to determine the appropriate offence under the Indian Penal Code.

K.S. Jhaveri, J.

1. These appeals are filed by the present appellants-accused against the judgment and order dated 16.07.2014, passed by the learned 5th Additional Sessions Judge, Surat, in Sessions Case No. 190 of 2010, whereby, the appellants-accused were convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 143, 147, 148, 149 & 188 of the Indian Penal Code (for short "the IPC") and were ordered to undergo the sentences as mentioned in the table shown below:-

Offence under Sections	Sentence	Default
302	Life imprisonment and fine of Rs. 20,000/-	Simple imprisonment for 09 days
143	Rigorous imprisonment for 05 months and fine of Rs. 3,000/-	Simple imprisonment for 01 month
147	Rigorous imprisonment for 02 years and fine of Rs. 5,000/-	Simple imprisonment for 03 months
148	Rigorous imprisonment for 02 years and fine of Rs. 5,000/-	Simple imprisonment for 03 months
149	Rigorous imprisonment for 02 years and fine of Rs. 5,000/-	Simple imprisonment for 03 months
188	Fine of Rs. 200/-	Simple imprisonment for 05 days.

2. Criminal Appeal No. 1491 of 2014, has been preferred by original accused No. 4, in Sessions Case No. 190 of 2010, whereas, Criminal Appeal No. 1369 of 2015, has been preferred by original accused No. 1, in Sessions Case No. 190 of 2010. Therefore, we have heard these appeals qua original accused Nos. 1 and 4 only, in Sessions Case No. 190 of 2010.

3. The case of the prosecution is that prior to two days of Uttarayan the original accused No. 1 along with his friend, went to the complainant's Vadaapanv stall/lorry and asked for Vadaapanv for free, to which the complainant denied. This resulted into an altercation between the owner i.e. the complainant and the accused No. 1. Keeping the said animosity in mind, the accused formed an unlawful assembly with other accused persons, and armed themselves with different kinds of weapons and went to the place of offence on 24.02.2010, at about 07:30 hrs in the evening, with the common intention to kill the complainant as well as the witness Jalamsingh. The complainant as well as his father i.e. the witness of the present case on hand, were both present at the Vadaapanv lorry. During the given time, accused No. 1 Sandip alias Fakira, hit the complainant and the witness with the sword on head, while accused No. 2, Vijay alias Zamrukh, hit the complainant on right hand with the baseball bat and also caused injury to the witness on head. Accused No. 3, Ramchandra hit the complainant with cricket bat on right side of the rib-cage and also hit the witness on different parts of the body with the cricket bat. Accused No. 4, Mehul Budhiyabhai Rathod and Sunil gave fist blows and kick blows to the complainant and the witness. Not only this, but also the accused No. 4, i.e. Mehul Budhiyabhai Rathod, poured the boiled oil on the complainant as well as the witness on different parts of the body, which caused severe burn injuries. The complainant was badly burnt on the chest, back, both hands, legs and face, which ultimately resulted into his death. Therefore, the accused were charged for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 307, 323, 143, 147, 148, 149 and 188 of the IPC.

4. Upon filing of the complaint, investigation was carried out and the accused were arrested and charge-sheet was submitted in the Court of learned Magistrate. However, as the case was exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions, the same was committed to the Sessions Court. Thereafter, charges were framed against the accused persons. The accused persons pleaded 'not guilty' and claimed to be tried.

5. During the trial, the prosecution has examined the following witnesses:-