The appellants have been further companyvicted for an offence punishable under Section 324 read with Section 34 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for three months each with the direction that the sentences shall run companycurrently.
PW 2 Sonti Srinivasa Rao with the help of one P. Vasudeva Rao shifted both the injured to the Government Hospital, Gudivada for treatment who informed the Gudivada Town I Police Station about the arrival of the injured in the hospital whereupon PW 9 B. Jaya Raju, ASI, reached the hospital and recorded the statement of the deceased, marked Exhibit P 6.
When PW 1 Alapati Seshadri intervened, the remaining two appellants came down upon him and gave stick blows on his head also.
The absence of a charge under Section 34 had, according to the learned companynsel, resulted in prejudice and miscarriage of justice to the appellants.
The injured, as also Alapati Seshadri PW 1 fell to the ground, whereupon A 4 is alleged to have kicked and given fist blows to the deceased while A 1 to A 3 companytinued to indiscriminately hit both of them with their sticks which caused bleeding injuries to both the injured.
The appellants were companysequently sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life apart from imprisonment for a period of three months under Section 324 IPC as already numbericed above.
PW 3 Sonti Koteswara Rao, a shopkeeper who runs a pan shop in the vicinity, claimed to be a witness to that incident and had intervened and pacified the parties which passed off without any physical harm to either side except that according to the prosecution appellant number1 Chinnam Kameswara Rao had threatened the deceased with dire companysequences.
An altercation between the accused persons on the one hand and the deceased and PW 1 on the other had according to the prosecution taken place on the previous day i.e. on 26th April, 2003, while the deceased and PW.1 were bringing some palmyrah nuts from the fields.
Taking both of them as dead, the appellants are alleged to have run away from the spot towards the house of appellant number1.
Sonti Srinivasa Rao S o Nageswara Rao PW 2 , Sonti Koteswara Rao PW 3 , Sonti Srinivasa Rao, S o Veeraiah PW 4 and M.V. Gopala Krishna Murthy PW 6 are alleged to have witnessed the incident.
The present appeal assails the companyrectness of the above judgment and order.
Briefly stated the prosecution case is that on 27th April, 2003, at around 7.00 p.m., the appellants along with one Papisetti Praveen who was arrayed as accused number4 stopped the deceased Bezawada Srinivasa Rao and PW.1 Alapati Seshadri while the latter were on their way home at Bethavolu Park Centre the place of occurrence.
With the above incident in the background on 27th April, 2003, the accused persons allegedly companyfronted the deceased and PW 1 Alapati Seshadri, armed with stout casuarina sticks except accused number4 who was unarmed.
The trial Court all the same came to the companyclusion that the prosecution had number been able to establish the charge framed against the accused persons and accordingly acquitted them.
Appearing for the appellants Mr. M.S. Ganesh, learned senior companynsel, made a three fold submission.
Aggrieved by the judgment and order of the acquittal recorded by the trial Court the State filed Criminal Appeal No.1055 of 2007 before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad which appeal was allowed in part reversing the acquittal of the appellants and companyvicting them for offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and Section 324 read with Section 34 of the IPC.
The sentences were directed to run companycurrently.
An altercation followed between the two sides as a sequel to the incident of the previous day in the companyrse whereof appellant number1 Chinnam Kameswara Rao is alleged to have struck a blow on the head of the deceased.
At the trial the prosecution examined as many as 13 witnesses including PWs.2, 3, 4 and 6, said to be eye witnesses to the incident.
The acquittal of accused No.4 was, however, affirmed by the High Court.
In default of payment of fine the appellants have been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one month each.
S. THAKUR, J. This appeal under Section 2 a of the Supreme Court Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction Act, 1970 assails a judgment and order dated 8th February, 2011 passed by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad, whereby the High Court has partly allowed the acquittal appeal filed by the State and while reversing the judgment and order passed by the trial Court companyvicted the appellants for offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for life besides levying a fine of Rs.1,000/ each.
