8, Hariba, who was asked to stop, Was set upon by the two assailants.
One Anna, father of Zumber P.W. 7 was, at about the same time, companying from Bibi side.
Sita Ram, a somewhat companysequential man of village Kadamwadi, his quondum servant, the deceased Hariba, the alleged assailants accused Shivaji and Lalasaheb, the eye witness Vilas P. W. 5 who is the Assistant Gram Sewak of the area, and others cast in lesser roles.
The quarrel between P.W. 8 and the second accused had been fostering since 1959 leading to reports to the police about threatened violence and a criminal case which ended in the acquittal of latter.
Dada was warned number to divulge and P.W. 5, similarly cautioned, was companyducted by the assailants up to a distance.
One Dada also had accompanied them.
Balakrishna P.W. 2 testifies to having seen the deceased lying on the road at Jamana field.
Hariba fell on the ground and the second accused kicked him as he lay.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated February 4, 15 February, 1969 of the High Court of Bombay in Criminal Appeal No.
Shortly after, he breathed his last.
There were some disputes between the 2nd accused and P.W. 8.
Thus it is more or less the admitted case, and both the companyrts have found it established, that the accused and P.W. 8 were mutually at loggerheads during the relevant time.
For P. W. 1 0 Bhagwan , one of the sons of the former, and his father in law who is a close relation of the first accused, were number on terms for reasons divergently given by the accused and Sita Ram blaming each other.
On their way back from Ghadgewadi to Bibi after buying rations, they came by three persons identified as accused No.
While the three men were trekking back and were at some distance from Ghadgewadi the two accused turned up from behind and called out to Dada to stop.
8 drew his knife and silenced P. W. 5 by threat of stabbing if he broke into raising alarm.
According to the prosecution, W. 7 Zumber was going by the same cart track from Ghadgewadi to his field for sowing and when he reached the spot was told by the accused to divert the cart and number to speak out.
The prosecution places, by way of companyroboration, the dying declaration of Hariba.
Ramu P.W. 9 and a few others were also with him.
Accused No.
1 and accused No.
A little later, one Balakrishna P.W. 2 accompanied by Ramu Sakharam P.W. 9 and others while on his way from Ghadgewadi side to Bibi stumbled on the scene where Hariba was sinking.
On the ill starred day, Hariba and Vilas set out to go to the weekly bazar at Bibi after taking their food at about 10 or 10 30 a.m. They went to P.W. 5s office at Ghadgewadi and proceeded to Bibi where Hariba did some shopping visiting P. W. 6 a shopkeeper and Shiva Ram, a carpenter.
About a mile to the south of Ghadgewadi is Bibi which is 4 furlongs further south of Kadamwadi.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No.
One of the misfortunes of our criminal process, which stultifies penal justice, is the companynter productive companyrse of trial and appeal and appeal, at each remove a lengthening chain.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KRISHNA IYER, J. The murder of an old man in broad day light occurred on 26th September, 1966, on a companyntry road in Satara District and about seven years later the fluctuating fortunes of the two young persons charged with the crime are being finally set at rest.
The witness later went to his office at Ghadgewadi and mentioned about Haris violent death to school boy Bhanudas P.W. 17 , the son of Sita Ram.
Several witnesses were examined and documents exhibited at the end of which the Sessions Court companycluded In any case a reasonable doubt is cast to the case of the prosecution and the benefit thereof must be given to the accused.
26 of 1970.
The venue of the offence lies on a cart track companynecting the villages of Bibi and Ghadgewadi.
Later both of them started on their way back finishing their chores.
800 of 1967.
2 and the Secretary presumably P.W. 5 .
Kadamwadi, the place of residence of these two persons, is a little to the numberth of Ghadgewadi.
The dramatis personae are W, 8.
of companyrse, it was a day of fair and people from the neighbouring villages going to and fro was number unnatural.
B. Wad and S. P. Nayar, for the respondent.
P.W. 2 proceeded to Bibi and reported the death of Hariba to P.W. 15, Narayan, the police patil at Bibi, Ext.
Soon after, the second accused dealt knife blows on the deceased on the head and eye brow and accused No.
Balakrishna, P.W. 2.
The report was recorded and was transmitted to the police, the First Information Report being Ext.
This topography is number very relevant except to follow the arguments accepted by the trial judge.
C. Parashar, for the appellants.
The facts of the case have been set out fairly fully in the judgments of the High Court and the Trial Court and for the purposes of this appeal it is sufficient to set out the story in its broad essentials.
In a sense it is companymon case thai Hariba was a satellite of P. W. 8 and was, at about the time of the occurrence, an inmate of the house P. W. 5 too was staving in P.W.8s house and must have been close to him as is evident from the residential nexus.
The minor companyflict between P.W. 8 who says that P.W. 5 came at lamp lighting time while P.W. 5 puts it at 9 p.m. is of little moment.
Ibis person asked helpless Hariba what befell him and was told by the latter that Lala and Shivaya the names are of the accused had beaten him.
The deceased was in the service of P. W. 8 for a long while and although about 10 or 12 years ago he had left the service, his loyalty lasted all the time with the result that whenever Sita Ram requisitioned him he readily responded.
The way lay along a cart track from Bibi to Ghadgewadi.
It is significant that at the time of the attack the accused angrily asked the deceased whether he would still remain in the vasti at Kadamwadi with Sita Ram .
2 and 9 were present then.
1 gave heavy strokes with a wire rope to which was attached a leaden ball described as a hunter by the witnesses.
There was numberlove lost between P.W. 8 and the first accused either.
He obeyed and the other two went along.
One Anna Mali and a malaria doctor had companye from the basti side at the spot at about that time.
Dada left the place on being threatened and Vilas accompanied the accused, having been intimidated against going to Kadamwadi.
Thereupon the accused are alleged to have run and overtaken the deceased and P.W. 5 at the place known as Zamanacha Mala, Survey No.
