2025:BHC-AS:46519-DB

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 730 OF 2019

Santosh Balaram Kharkar Age :- Adult, Occu : Tailor

R/o. PutubaichaPada,

Taluka :Alibag, Dist:- Raigad. … Appellant

V/s.

The State of Maharashtra Revdanda Police Station,

Alibag, Dist.Raigad. … Respondent

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Mr. Aditya Bapat for Appellant Appointed by Legal Aid Committee.

Mr. Shreekant V. Gavand, A.P.P. for Respondent-State.

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CORAM : A. S. GADKARI AND

RANJITSINHA RAJA BHONSALE, JJ.

DATE : 10^th September, 2025.

JUDGMENT. : (Per : A.S. Gadkari, J.)

1) Appellant has impugned Judgment and Order dated 11^th January, 2019, passed by the learned Ad-hoc Additional Sessions Judge-1, Raigad- Alibag, in Sessions Case No.98 of 2016, convicting him under Sections 302 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘IPC’) and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/-, in default of payment of fine, to further suffer rigorous imprisonment for 6

months.

1.1) By the same Judgment, the Appellant is acquitted for the offence punishable under Section 504 of the IPC.

2) Heard Mr.Bapat, learned Advocate appointed by the Legal Aid Committee, High Court, Mumbai to represent the Appellant and Mr.Gavand, learned APP for the State. Perused entire record.

3) The name of deceased is Nandkumar Raut. The date and time of incident is 21^st July, 2016 at about 5.15 p.m.

3.1) It is the prosecution case that, on 21^st July, 2016, at about 1.30 p.m. Smt.Nandini N. Raut (PW No.1), the wife deceased was informed by Mr.Shrikant N. Raut (PW No.5), that, a quarrel between the deceased and another person was going on near Chunegaji Bridge. Therefore PW No.1 along with her brother Mr.Avinash P. Thakur (PW No.2) went to the said spot. She saw her husband was lying on the road, the Appellant was sitting on his body and beating him. Appellant beat Nandu Raut on his cheek. Appellant was also abusing and gave threat to Nandu Raut that, he would beat and see him. Upon an inquiry by PW No.1, Nandkumar informed her that, when he was returning home on his bicycle, at that time, the Appellant met him and said that, ‘what your sound is’ and due to that, altercation between them took place. PW No.1 took her husband to their house and made him to sleep on the bed. At about 4.00 p.m. under the pretext of going to the field, PW No.1 went to the house of her neighbour. After some time, one Mr.Manoj Malekar came to her house and informed PW No.1 that, a quarrel had taken place between her husband and Appellant near the shop of Mr. Amrut Raut (PW No.3). PW No.1 therefore rushed to the shop of PW No.3. She saw that, her husband was lying in a pool of blood near vharanda(Otla) of the house of PW No.3. She also saw the pieces of kadappa tiles and bricks of the Tulshi Vrindavan had fallen near the said spot. Mr.Kedar Raut (PW No.4) and Mr.Amrut Raut (PW No.3) informed PW No.1 that, the Appellant beat her husband on his head with the upper portion of the said Vrindavan. The Police were informed. The deceased was thereafter taken to hospital.

3.2) The deceased was declared dead prior to administration of medical treatment. Dr.Vijaykumar Jadhav (PW No.10), the Medical Officer, then attached to Civil Hospital, Alibag conducted autopsy on the dead body of Nandkumar Raut on 22^nd July, 2016, between 7.00 a.m. to 8.00 a.m. He gave his opinion as to the cause of probable death as “poly trauma, death due to perforating injury to heart & lungs & head injury, brain injury”. He accordingly prepared postmortem report (Exhibit-40) and also issued Advance Death Certificate (Exhibit-41). After completion of investigation, the Police submitted charge-sheet in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Raigad-Alibag.

3.3) As the offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC is exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions, the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Raigad-Alibag committed the case to the Court of