IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, DHARWAD BENCH DATED THIS THE 1^ST DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2025 BEFORE THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAMACHANDRA D. HUDDAR CRIMINAL REVISION PETITION NO. 100017 OF 2018 (397(Cr.PC)/438(BNSS))

BETWEEN:

YAMANAPPA S/O. YALAGURDAPPA HABBAD, AGE: 33 YEARS, OCC: DRIVER, R/O: BADAMI, TQ: BADAMI, DIST: BAGALKOTE.

…PETITIONER (BY SRI. P. N. HOSAMANE, ADVOCATE)

AND:

STATE OF KARNATAKA THROUGH BADAMI P.S., REPRESENTED BY STATE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, DHARWAD BENCH.

…RESPONDENT (BY SRI. HANUMAREDDY, AGA)

THIS CRIMINAL REVISION PETITION IS FILED UNDER Digitally SECTION 397 AND 401 OF CR.P.C., SEEKING TO CALL FOR THE signed by RECORDS AND TO SET ASIDE THE JUDGEMENT AND ORDER OF ANJALI M CONVICTION AND SENTENCE PASSED BY PRL. DISTRICT AND Location:

SESSIONS BAGALKOT IN CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 16 OF 2013 High Court of Karnataka, DATED 07.07.2017 AND THE JUDGEMENT AND ORDER OF Dharwad CONVICTION PASSED BY COURT OF JMFC BADAMI IN Bench C.C.NO.777 OF 2007 DATED 19.01.2013 FOR THE OFFENCES PUNISHABLE UNDER SECTION 279, 337, 338 AND 304-A OF IPC AND ACQUIT THE PETITIONER FOR THE ALLEGED OFFENCE AS IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE.

THIS PETITION, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE ORDER THEREIN AS UNDER:

CORAM: THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAMACHANDRA D.

HUDDAR

ORAL ORDER

(PER: THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAMACHANDRA D. HUDDAR)

This Revision Petition is directed against the judgement of conviction and order of sentence dated 19.01.2013 passed in CC No.777/2007 on the file of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Badami (for short ‘trial Court’) confirmed in Crl.A. No.16/2013 vide judgment dated 07.07.2017 by the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Bagalkot (for short ‘First Appellate Court’).

2. The present revision petitioner along with accused No.2 Muttappa S/o. Fakirappa Alaboji was chargesheeted by CPI of Badami Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 279, 337, 338 and 304A of IPC and Section 187 and Section 3 r/w Section

181 of Indian Motor Vehicles Act (for short ‘IMV Act’).

3. It is a case of the prosecution before the trial Court, that on 06.05.2007 at about 7:45 pm on Bagalkot-Badami road near the land of Ramanna Chittaragi of Katageri village, the accused No.2 being the driver of the tractor bearing No.KA-29/T-5001 with trailer No.KA-29/T-5002, while driving his tractor trailer in a rash and negligent manner, so also at that time, the accused No.1 i.e., the present petitioner being the driver of a KSRTC Bus bearing registration No.KA-29/F-639 was driving his Bus in a rash and negligent manner in a high speed on the same Badami-Bagalkot road endangering the human life, dashed to the said tractor. There was a head- on collision in between both the vehicles. Because of this accident, the inmates of the tractor by name Malavva, Shantavva and Sharanavva died and the other inmates of the tractor sustained injuries as well as the Bus was damaged. With these allegations, a complaint came to be filed before the Badami Police Station and the same was registered and the Criminal Law was set in motion. The Investigation Officer after completion of the investigation filed the chargesheet against the said accused for the aforesaid offences.

4. The accused were enlarged on bail. On filing the chargesheet, the Jurisdictional Magistrate took the cognizance of the offences, supplied the copies of the papers to the accused persons as contemplated under Section 207 of Cr.P.C., recorded their plea for the aforesaid offences for which they pleaded not guilty.

5. To prove the guilt of the accused, prosecution in all examined 17 witnesses from PW.1 to PW.17 and got marked Ex.P.1 to Ex.P.34 with respective signatures so also got marked MO Nos.1 to 5 and closed the prosecution evidence.

6. After closure of the evidence of the prosecution, accused were questioned under Section 313 of Cr.P.C so as to enable them to answer the incriminating circumstances appearing in the evidence of the prosecution. They denied their complicity i