2026:CGHC:6392-DB NAFR ROHIT KUMAR CHANDRA HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR Digitally signed by ROHIT KUMAR CHANDRA CRA No. 316 of 2023 Prakash Sahu @ Baba @ Omprakash S/o Shri Vivekanand Sahu Aged About 19 Years R/o Near State Bank Nevra P/s Tilda - Nevra District Raipur, Chhattisgarh Civil And Revenue District Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

--- Appellant versus State of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Tilda - Nevra, District :

Raipur, Chhattisgarh --- Respondent CRA No. 590 of 2024

1 - Harishankar Sonwani @ Konda @ Bahiya S/o Santosh Sonwani Aged About 19 Years R/o Behind Surya Bar, Tilda, District Raipur (C.G.)

2 - Karan Santwani S/o Devanand Aged About 18 Years R/o Behind Rice Mill, Police Station Tilda- Newra, District Raipur (C.G.)

---Appellants Versus State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station -

Tilda - Newra, District Raipur (C.G.)

--- Respondent CRA No. 322 of 2024 Narayan Dewangan @ Narad S/o Shri Kamal Dewangan Aged About 19 Years R/o Kewatpara Tilda, P/S Tilda-Nevra, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh --- Appellant Versus State of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Tilda- Nevra, District :

Raipur, Chhattisgarh --- Respondent CRA No. 2218 of 2023

1 - Dhaneshwar Bandhe S/o Deenanath, aged about 22 years Residents of in front of Uttam Hospital, PS Tilda Neora, District -

Raipur, Chhattsigarh.

2 - Kailash Kumar Bandhe, S/o Deenanath Bandhe, aged about 18 years Residents of in front of Uttam Hospital, PS Tilda Neora, District -

Raipur, Chhattsigarh.

--- Appellants Versus State of Chhattisgarh Through SHO PS Tilda Neora District - Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

--- Respondent For Appellants in CRA 316/2023 : Mr. Ajay Mishra, Advocate and CRA 322/2024 For Appellants in CRA 590/2024 : Ms. Nirupama Bajpai, Advocate For Appellants in CRA 2218/2023 : Mr. Aman Pandey, Advocate For State/Respondent : Mr. S.S. Baghel, Govt. Advocate Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Arvind Kumar Verma , Judge Judgment on Board Per Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice

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1. Since all the above-captioned appeals arise out of a common incident and common factual matrix, this Court is disposing of these appeals by a common judgment.

2. All these criminal appeals have been filed by the accused/appellants under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, ‘the CrPC’) against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 18.11.2022 passed by the Special Judge (Atrocities), Raipur (C.G.) in Sessions Case No. 25/2022, by which the appellants have been convicted and sentenced in the following manner :-

3. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 08.04.2022, at approximately 9:50 p.m., the complainant in the case, Mukesh Gendre, was walking home from the Tilda Rec Point with his friend, Durgesh Gaikwad. A DJ was playing at a local wedding ceremony. Some people were fighting there. When the complainant, Mukesh Gendre, approached the Rec Point he saw that Dhaneshwar @ Dedha was assaulting Omprakash, a local resident, while Dadu alias Thaneshwar, his cousin, was trying to intervene. When the complainant, Mukesh Gendre, and Durgesh went to intervene, Baiha alias Konda struck Dadu alias Thaneshwar in the face and chest with a knife kept with him and Narayan Dewangan @ Narad, Dhaneshwar @ Dedha, Karan Santwani, Prakash Sahu, and Kailash Bandhe were also assaulting with hand and fists and abusing Dadu alias Thaneshwar. Karan Santwani was holding an iron rod with which he was assaulting him. When Dadu alias Thaneshwar fell, Durgesh, Narendra, and Bhupendra, all from the neighborhood, took him to Mission Hospital, Tilda, where the doctor declared him dead. The complainant, Omprakash Gaikwad, Narendra Gendre, and Durgesh Gaikwad were also injured while trying to intervene.

4. On the basis oral complainant lodged by complainant Mukesh Gendre, first Information Report (P-17) was registered against the accused in Police Station, Tilda Nevra under Crime No. 166/2022, Sections 147, 148, 149, 302 of the In