IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 802 of 2012 FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:

HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE S.V. PINTO Sd/-

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Approved for Reporting Yes No No ==========================================================

STATE OF GUJARAT Versus HARSABEN JANAKBHAI PATHAK & ORS.

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Appearance:

MS. CHETNA SHAH APP for the Appellant(s) No. 1 MR HEMANT MAKWANA(3622) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 5 MR PREMAL R JOSHI(1327) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4 MRS KIRAN P JOSHI(1328) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1,2,3,4 ================================================================

CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE S.V. PINTO Date : 09/10/2025

ORAL JUDGMENT

1. This appeal has been filed by the appellant State under Section 378(1)(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the judgment and order of acquittal passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 5, City Civil & Sessions Court, Ahmedabad (hereinafter referred to as "the learned Trial Court") in Special (Atrocity) Case No. 33 of 2011 on 12-03-2012, whereby, the learned Trial Court has acquitted the respondents for the offence punishable under Sections 452, 323, 294(A), 506(2) and 114 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereafter referred to as "IPC" for short) and Section Section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as “Atrocities Act”).

1.1 The respondents are hereinafter referred to as the accused in the rank and file as they stood in the original case for the sake of convenience, clarity and brevity.

2. The brief facts that emerge from the record of the case are as under:-

2.1 On 15-12-2010, at around 12.45 hours, the accused No. 1 was sitting in the staircase in front of flat No. 6-A of Hiral Apartment and was talking loudly and the complainant - Ishwarbhai Dhanabhai Rathod asked the accused No. 1 to talk slowly. The accused got angry and called the other accused and all of them illegally trespassed into the house of the complainant and assaulted the complainant with slaps and fists and hurled derogatory caste slurs, abuses and also threatened to kill the complainant. The complainant filed a complaint at the GIDC Vatva Police Station under Sections 452, 323, 294 (B), 506 (1) and 114 of the IPC and Section 3 (1)(x) of the Atrocity Act, which came to be registered at GIDC, Vatva Plice Station I – C.R.No. 135 of 2010

2.2 The accused were duly served with the summons and the accused appeared before the learned Trial Court, and it was verified whether the copies of all the necessary papers were provided to the accused as per the provisions of Section 207 of the Code. A charge at Exh. 2 was framed against the accused and the statements of the accused were recorded at Exhs. 3 to 6 respectively, wherein, the accused denied all the contents of the charge and the entire evidence of the prosecution was taken on record. 2.3 The prosecution produced seven oral and seven documentary evidences to bring home the charge against the accused and after the learned Additional Public Prosecutor filed the closing pursis at Exh.27, the further statement of the accused under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 were recorded, wherein, the accused denied all the evidence of the prosecution on record. The accused refused to step into the witness box or examine witnesses on their behalf and stated that a false case has been filed against them. After the arguments of the learned Additional Public Prosecutor and the learned advocate for the accused were heard, the learned trial Court by the impugned judgment and order was pleased to acquit all the accused from all the charges leveled against them.

3. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the said judgment and order of acquittal, the appellant - State has filed the present appeal mainly stating that the impugn