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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 587 OF 1994

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 587 OF 1994

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 587 OF 1994

Anant Chandru Wake, aged about

22 years, resident of village

Sule Taluka Chandgad, District

Kolhapur. .. Appellant

(Org.Accused

No.1.)

Vs.

The State of Maharashtra .. Respondent

Mr. S.V. Marwadi with Mr. A.P. Mundargi for Appellant.

Mr. A.M. Shringarpure, APP for Respondent-State.

CORAM: S.S. PARKAR & ANOOP V. MOHTA, JJ.

CORAM: S.S. PARKAR & ANOOP V. MOHTA, JJ.

CORAM: S.S. PARKAR & ANOOP V. MOHTA, JJ.

Date : May 02, 2005.

Date : May 02, 2005.

Date : May 02, 2005.

ORAL JUDGMENT (PER S.S. PARKAR,J.):

ORAL JUDGMENT (PER S.S. PARKAR,J.):

ORAL JUDGMENT (PER S.S. PARKAR,J.):

1. This appeal is filed by original accused no.1

in Sessions Case No.4 of 1992 challenging the order of

conviction and sentence recorded against him by the

2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Kolhapur on 30/7/1994

convicting him for offence under Section 302 of IPC

and sentencing him to life imprisonment and for

offence under Section 392 read with section 397 of IPC

and sentencing him to RI for seven years and to pay a

fine of Rs.1000/- in default SI for six months. The

substantive sentences were directed to run

concurrently.

2. In the trial Court two accused persons were

prosecuted for the offence of murder and robbery under

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Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC and Section

392 read with Section 397 of IPC in respect of murder

of Ranger Forest Officer Mangesh Sawant from the

office of Social Forestry at Gargoti on the night

between 17/12/1990 and 18/12/1990 when robbery of his

ornaments and cash from the office cash box had taken

place. The office was situated on the first floor of

the building known as Ganesh Bhuvan owned by Ganpati

Desai. The office of the Social Forestry had three

rooms on the first floor of the building Ganesh

Bhuvan. Deceased Mangesh Sawant used to reside in the

rear side room of the said office. Complainant

Khanderao Devardekar who was watchman of the said

office used to cook food for deceased Sawant. He used

to attend his duties at 8 a.m. and leave the office

at 7.30 p.m. after cooking food for the deceased. In

the evening of 17/12/1990 he had left the place at

about 7.30 p.m. after cooking food for Mangesh

Sawant. Next morning on 18/12/1990 when he went to

the office at about 8 a.m. as usual, he found the

office of the Forest Department locked. He thought

that Mangesh Sawant must have gone out and, therefore,

he went to ask for key from accused no.2 Arun Kurane

who was working as Clerk in that office. As he said

that he did not have the key, he waited outside the

office until the adjoining Agriculture office on the

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first floor called Benar office was opened.