Back
2008 Supreme(All) 40
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
D.V.Sharma
STATE OF U P
Versus
RA
Decided On : 05 January 2008
Cri. Appeal Nos. 578 and 579 of 1981
The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the nature of injuries and the application of relevant sections of the I.P.C. based on medical evidence and expert opinion.
Headnote:
I.P.C. - Acquittal and Enhancement of Sentences - Sections 307/34, 323/34, 324/34 - Summary of the acts and sections referenced and discussed by the court: The court discussed the prosecution's case under sections 307/34 I.P.C. and the injuries sustained by the victims. The court considered the medical evidence and expert opinion to conclude that the injuries were simple in nature and not grievous or dangerous to life, thus falling under section 324 I.P.C. The court also referred to legal principles from previous judgments to support its decision.
Fact of the Case:
The case involved a quarrel between the complainant and the accused persons, resulting in injuries. The accused were initially acquitted of the charge under section 307/34 I.P.C. but convicted under sections 323/34 and 324/34 I.P.C. The state appealed for enhancement of the sentences.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the injuries were simple in nature and not grievous or dangerous to life, thus falling under section 324 I.P.C. The court declined to interfere with the findings of the Trial Court on the point of sentence and dismissed the state appeals on the point of acquittal and enhancement of sentences.
Issues: The issues involved the nature of the injuries sustained by the victims and the appropriate sections of the I.P.C. under which the accused should be convicted.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the medical evidence and expert opinion to determine the nature of the injuries and the applicable sections of the I.P.C. It also referred to legal principles from previous judgments to support its decision.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the state appeals on the point of acquittal and enhancement of sentences.
Both the appeals have been preferred by the State against acquittal of the accused persons under sections 307/34 I. P. C. and for enhancement of the sentences, arising out of the judgment and order dated 9. 1. 1981 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Unnao in S. T. No. 177 of 1980, whereby the respondents have been acquitted of the charge under section 307/34 I. P. C. but have been convicted under sections 323/34 and 324/34 I. P. C. and sentenced to undergo six months R. I. on three counts and one years R. I. on two counts respectively. Since both the appeals are directed against the same judgment and order, they are being disposed of together by a common order.
2. The prosecution case, in brief, is that the complainant Prem Narayan (P. W. I) and the accused Ram Bali, Gunnu and Ram Dayal are residents of Village and Police Station Makhi, District Unnao. Accused Ram Bali and Gunnu are real brothers and accused Ram Dayal is their maternal uncle. The house of complainant and accused Ram Bali and Gunnu lie in front of each other and a passage intervened between the two. There was well of the complainant, besides which the said passage lies. After the passage there was charni and cattle pegs of accused Ram Bali. The accused persons had blocked the said passage by putting a log.
3. On 20. 3. 1979 at about 7. 00 p. m. when the complainant Prem Narayan and his cousin Santosh Kumar were returning back to their home in a bullock-cart from their khalihan, they removed the said log for passing the bullock-cart, upon which quarrel ensued. Accused Ram Bali and Ram Dayal armed with gendasa and Gunnu armed with lathi started assaulting Prem Narayan and Santosh Kumar. Real brother of the complainant, namely, Ram Chander rushed for their rescue, but he too was beaten by the accused persons. On the alarm being raised, Nand Lal, Devidin, Raja Ram and several other villagers reached the spot and tried to intervene. Thereafter the accused persons fled away after causing injuries with their respective weapons. The complainant Prem Narayan lodged a written report Ext. Ka-1 at P. S. Makhi, which lies at a distance of about 1 Km. from the place of occurrence, on 20. 3. 1979 at 7. 45 p. m. , on the basis of which, check F. I. R. Ext. Ka-2 was prepared and a case was registered in the general diary, copy of which is Ext. Ka-3. The injured persons were medically examined by Dr. D. N. Srivastava P. W. 6 in the same night, who prepared their injury reports Ext. Ka-8 to Ka-10. After completing usual investigation S. I. Raj Dutt Tripathi P. W. 5 submitted the charge-sheet against the accused persons.
4. The prosecution in support of its case, examined as many as six witnesses in all and out of them PW. 1 Prem Narayan, the complainant, PW. 2 Rajaram and PW. 3 Ram Chander, brother of the complainant are the witnesses of fact and rest are formal ones. Out of the three eye-witnesses, PW. l Prem Narayan and PW. 3 Ram Chander are injured witnesses.
5. The statements of the accused persons were recorded under section 313 Cr. P. C, wherein they pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. They denied the charges framed against them and stated that they have been falsely implicated in this case due to enmity.
6. After considering the entire material on record, the Trial Court came to the conclusion that the prosecution has been successful in proving its case beyond all reasonable doubt, but instead of sentencing the accused persons under section 307/34 I. P. C. it convicted and sentenced them under sections 323 and 324 read with section 34 I. P. C. , but instead of sending them to Jail, they were ordered to be released on probation of good conduct for one year on entering into a bond with two sureties each to the satisfaction of the Probation Officer concerned.
7. Feeling aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment and order, the State has preferred criminal appeal No. 578 of 1981 against acquittal under section 307 I. P. C. and criminal appeal No. 579 of 1981
