Facts of the Case
- (PW1) LokeshAgarwal was travelling from Pusaur to Raigarh on a motorbike with his friend Rashid late in the evening when he saw eight to ten persons at Kota Tarai near airport holding sticks in their hands.
- They tried to stop and then chase the duo who fled from the spot and went straight to Raigarh Police to report about the incident. Sub-Inspector A.K. Khan (PW5) recorded the report and informed Stations Incharge at KotwaliRaigarh and Pusaur with a request to them to reach the spot.
- The police constituted four smaller groups to approach the place where the appellants were said to be sitting under a tree with lethal weapons in their hands. The appellants were surrounded and asked to surrender whereupon they tried to escape from the spot but the police party apprehended the appellants along with the arms they were carrying besides eatables and liquor. Some of those assembled on the spot, made their escape good under the cover of darkness.
- On completion of investigation into the case a charge sheet was filed against eleven persons for offences punishable under Sections 399 and 402 IPC.
- Before the trial Court, the prosecution examined nine witnesses while five witnesses were examined in defence.
- The trial Court eventually found the appellants guilty of the offences with which they were charged and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for five years on each count.
- Four of the accused persons namely, Jageshwar, ShaniRawat, Palu Ram and Hiravan were, however, given the benefit of doubt and acquitted by the trial Court.
- The appeal was dismissed by the High Court as well.
Judgment
The Hon’ble Supreme Court Stated that, “Learned counsel for the appellants has not been able to point out any error of fact or law in the order passed by the Courts below. Even otherwise the orders under challenge do not suffer from any legal infirmity nor do they suffer from any perversity in the appreciation of evidence adduced by the parties. In that view, therefore, we have no hesitation in holding that the Courts below were justified in recording an order of conviction against the appellants. We, however, feel that in the facts and circumstance of the case the sentence imposed upon the appellants is somewhat harsh and needs to be suitably reduced. We accordingly modify the sentence recorded by the trial Court as affirmed by the High Court to the extent that instead of five years the appellants shall stand sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years only on both counts. Sentences awarded shall run concurrently.”
The Appeal was disposed with the modifications.
BY: ANKIT RAJPUT