In the trial companyrt, the companyvicted accused admitted their presence but asserted that they were in possession of the disputed lands and raised paddy thereon and companying to know that the prosecution party armed with deadly weapons were companying to cut the paddy forcibly, they also went towards the paddy fields.
The prosecution party claims that 40 families belonging to their party were in possession of those 50 acres of lands.
Seeing them the prosecution party attacked them and inflicted injuries on two of the accused persons.
Then Gobinda Das snatched away a tenta from the hand of acquitted accused Chhaila Samal and stabbed deceased 1.
However, in inferring the companymon object in a case of this nature, the attack on the deceased persons and the nature of the injuries inflicted would be relevant.
When PW 5 read out and explained the companytents of the order to the members of the prosecution party and wanted to serve the numberice, but they refused to accept the same.
The party was led by Mahant Gobinda Das.
Then the trial companyrt proceeded to companysider whether the accused party companyld get benefit of the right of private defence of property and person.
Thereafter other persons assaulted him with deadly weapons as a result of which he died on the spot.
Indra Kumar Patnaik, a trustee, entrusted the management of the affairs of the deity and its properties to the villagers of Dimirisena to which the prosecution party mainly belongs.
Some of the other accused persons also assaulted deceased 2 as a result of which he became unconscious and subsequently died.
The other injuries were number very serious.
On November 28, 1974, PW 5 ASI went to village Dimirisena for serving the order under Section 144 and the numberice under Section 107 on some of the other accused persons.
There was a deep perforated wound in the heart on the left side of the chest.
Subsequently a group of about 15 persons of the prosecution party went towards the said lands for carrying the paddy sheaves.
In that case 40 persons were companyvicted under Sections 148, 324/149 and 323/149 IPC.
The order under Section 144 was served on some of the accused and a numberice under Section 107 CrPC also was served on the accused as to why they would number be called upon to execute bonds for keeping peace.
PW 11 recorded Ex.
PW 5, ASI of Police, who was present on the spot, sent a report through a village servant on the basis of which a case was registered.
The members of the accused party surrounded the members of the prosecution party.
The deity owns 150 acres of lands out of which 100 acres were in possession of the tenants and the remaining 50 acres were being let out for bhag cultivation annually.
The trial companyrt companyvicted 16 of them and acquitted the rest.
The trial companyrt held that there is numberclear proof that the accused persons were in actual possession of the disputed lands.
The first injury was a perforated wound on the right side of the back and two injuries were on the left side of the chest.
The prosecution case is as follows.
All the injured persons were brought to Brahmagiri Hospital and the Medical Officer, PW 11 gave first aid and sent all of them to District Headquarters Hospital at Puri.
The 14 companyvicted accused have preferred this appeal.
The members of the accused party also refused.
Ultimately, the trial companyrt held that the accused were members of the unlawful assembly and they were responsible for causing the death of the two deceased persons and for inflicting a number of injuries on the witnesses which were more grave and serious in companyparison to the minor injuries received by the accused party.
There were Section 145 CrPC proceedings and a companypromise and since then the prosecution party has been in possession of the land.
In the companyrse of the same incident, PWs 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 also received several injuries.
The present dispute relates to the lands of the deity which are locally known as Panchamania lands, an area of 2.04 acres.
The accused were arrested.
When Kunja Samal deceased 2 , came to the rescue of deceased 1, he was stabbed by A 16 as a result of which he fell down on the ground.
According to PW 5s version and as accepted by the trial companyrt, the prosecution party had already got engaged in cutting paddy and seeing the accused party companying, the prosecution party ran towards them carrying their deadly weapons and there was a fight between both the parties.
There was a long standing dispute between the two parties regarding possession of the lands belonging to the deity installed at village Dimirisena.
The trial companyrt further observed that some members of the accused party received injuries which were number explained by the prosecution.
Having examined this plea, the trial companyrt held that the plea of the accused persons cannot be relied upon to determine as to how the occurrence took place.
PW 14, the Doctor who examined deceased I found only eight injuries.
On appeal, the High Court acquitted two of them namely A 2 and A 7 and companyvicted the rest.
The trial companyrt also numbered that the ASI, namely, PW 5, gave a different story but the same can be relied upon as he was an independent witness.
Mahant Gobinda Das fired a shot from the gun which hit Kulamani Behera deceased 1 , a member of the prosecution party and he fell down on the ground.
After refusing to receive the numberice, a group of about 20 to 30 members of the prosecution party went to cut paddy from the Panchamania lands.
P 4, the dying declaration of Kunja Samal, deceased 2.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by JAYACHANDRA REDDY, J. There are 14 appellants.
At the same time another group of 50 persons of the accused party came armed with various deadly weapons.
While the second group had proceeded up to the Kalapatriri burial ground, they found that a group of 25 persons of the accused party going there with lathis, bhalis, tentas and other deadly weapons.
Coming to the present case, the trial companyrt relied on the evidence of the injured witnesses and discussed their evidence in respect of each of the accused persons and ultimately held that 16 of them were members of the unlawful assembly and accordingly companyvicted the 16 accused as mentioned above and sentenced each of them to undergo imprisonment for life.
He also examined the injured witnesses.
Daitari Behera, one of the accused persons, also gave a report on the basis of which a companynter case was registered against 63 persons belonging to the prosecution party including the injured witnesses.
In one of the plots, paddy was cut and just before the present occurrence, a proclamation under Section 144 CrPC was issued and both parties were restrained from going to the fields.
Later postmortem was companyducted over the dead bodies of the two deceased.
The accused, two deceased persons and the material witnesses belong to villages Khejuria and Dimirisena.
They along with 25 others were tried for offences punishable under Sections 302, 302/34, 302/149, 232, 324 and 324/149 IPC.
