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CASE NO.: Appeal (crl.) 263 1992.

PETITIONER: NELABOTHU SUNDARARAMAIAH & ORS.

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

DATE OF JUDGMENT:       04/12/2000

BENCH: K.T.Thomas, D.P.Mohapatro

JUDGMENT:

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     J U D G M E N T

     D.P.MOHAPATRA, J.

     Thirty  three  accused persons faced trial on  charges under  different sections of the Indian Penal Code including Sections  302,  201 read with Section 149 IPC  and  Sections 147,  148, 286 and 307.  Of them five have filed this appeal against  the  judgment of conviction under section 302  read with section 149 IPC and sentence of life imprisonment along with  other  lesser offences.  The judgment of the  Sessions Judge  has been confirmed by the High Court in appeal in  so far  as the appellants are concerned.  Of the seven  accused persons who filed the appeal before the High Court, two were acquitted.   Therefore, in this appeal we are concerned with the   five  appellants  i.e.    accused  no.4  -   Nelabothu Sundararamaiah, accused no.12 - Arekatla Raghavaiah, accused no.13  - Arekatla Sankaraiah, accused no.25 - Thota Rama Rao and accused no.28 - Bolla Venkateswarlu.

     The  bizarre incident happened on 13.7.1985 at about 4 a.m.   in village Gogulapadu under Police Station  Nakerikal in  which  two brothers Yaganti Peda Hanumaiah  and  Yaganti China Hanumaiah were the casualties and several persons were injured including PW 2 Karlapudi Pitchaiah and PW3 Karlapudi Pakeeraiah.   The deceased and the injured belong to another village  namely, Adigoppula.  The said village is a  faction ridden  one,  one faction was led by accused no.1  Nelabothu Punnaiah  and the other by PW 2 Karlapudi Pitchaiah.   There was  rivalry  between the two factions since long.   Matters took  a  serious  turn  when   a  dispute  arose   regarding possession of four acres of land owned by one Garre Ramaiah. After  the death of Garre Ramaiah his son leased the land to PW 2 but the first accused claimed that he had purchased the said  four  acres  of land.  Further on 15.5.1985  one  Koti Veeraiah  Son of accused no.23 and brother of accused  no.17 were  murdered  and  case in Crime No.22/85 on the  file  of Karampudi  P.S.  was registered in that connection.  In that

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case,  the two deceased persons, PWs 2 to 6, and 23 and some others  were arrayed as accused.  Out of them PW2, PW4 to PW 6  and  PW 23 and the two deceased persons were not  granted anticipatory   bail.   Therefore,  they   were   hiding   in Gogulapadu  village evading arrest.  They had taken  shelter in the house of PW 5.  The two deceased and PW 2 were taking food  in the house of PW 1 while PWs 4 to 6 were taking food in  the house of Seshaiah, Kistaiah and Sambaiah.  Different portions of the ancestral house of PW1 were in occupation of the  brothers Kistaiah and Sambaiah and two others.  PW 8 is the son of Kistaiah and PW 7 is the wife of Seshaiah.  PW 3, on getting an order of anticipatory bail in his favour, came and  joined the other persons on 12.7.1985.  On the  fateful night  the  two  deceased  and PW nos.1 to 6  and  23  after finishing  dinner were sleeping on cots in the open space in front  of  the house of PW1.  The children of PW1 were  also sleeping  on cots placed nearby.  PWs 4 to 6 and 23 slept on the terrace of Yaganti Kistaiah’s house.  In the early hours of  13.7.1985 at about 4 a.m.  about 25 to 30 persons  armed with  sticks, spears, iron pipes and bombs placed in  tiffin carriers  reached the house of PW1 and attacked the deceased and  other co-villagers.  The attackers ransacked the house, exploded bombs and assaulted the two deceased.  They carried them away on two cots.  PW2 who had made his escape from the house  after being assaulted hide himself behind a bush  and from  there he saw the incident in the light of the electric lamp  burning  close by.  He saw the accused persons  taking away  the  two  deceased in two tractors.   On  getting  the information about the incident from PW1 the Sub Inspector of Police  PW  29 registered the FIR as Crime No.65/85  and  on getting  the  information PW 30 Circle Inspector of  Police, Nekarikal Police Station reached the place of occurrence and took up the investigation.  On 15.7.1985 at about 9 p.m.  he received  information from SHO Bommarajupalli police station that  two unidentified bodies were found lying in  Jammuvagu near  Ipur village.  On reaching Ipur village along with PWs 4,  5  and 23 and the SI of Police Nekarikal the two  bodies were identified by PWs 4, 5 and 23.  Thereafter arrangements were  made  for  conducting post-mortem examination  of  the deceased  by  doctors  PWs 24 and 25 who also  examined  the injured   persons  and  submitted   their  reports.    After completion  of  the  investigation   charge-sheet  was  laid against  the thirty three accused persons.  The  prosecution examined thirty witnesses in all of whom PWs1 to 8 and PW 23 were  the  occurrence  witnesses.   Out  of  the  occurrence witnesses  PWs 1, 7 and 8 were from Gogulapadu village while PWs 2 to 6 and 23 were residents of Adigoppula village.  The learned  Sessions  Judge on appreciation of the evidence  on record,  convicted  accused nos.1, 4, 12, 13, 23, 25 and  28 for  the offences under Sectin 302 read with Section 149 IPC and  also  convicted accused nos.4, 12, 13, 25 and 28  under Section  148 IPC and accused nos.13 and 23 under Section 147 IPC.   In  addition,  these accused persons were  also  held liable for punishment for the offence under Section 201 IPC. The  remaining accused persons i.e.  A-2, A-3, A-5 to  A-11, A-14  to  A-18, A-20, A-21, A-22, A-24, A-27, A-29 and  A-33 were  acquitted of all the charges framed against them.  The seven  accused persons convicted under Section 302 read with Section  149 IPC were sentenced to life imprisonment and  to undergo  three  years  R.I.   each for  the  offences  under Section  201  IPC and for two years R.I.  for  the  offences under Section 148 IPC.  A-13 and A-23 were also sentenced to suffer  R.I.  for one year for the offence under Section 147 IPC.   All the seven accused persons filed the appeal before the  High  Court.   The  High Court in  the  judgment  under

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challenge  on  assessment of the evidence of the  occurrence witnesses   acquitted  A-1  and   A-23  and  maintained  the conviction  and  sentence  against  the  rest  five  accused persons  who  are  the  appellants  herein.   Shri  M.N.Rao, learned   senior  counsel  appearing   for  the   appellants strenuously  urged that no reliance should have been  placed on  the occurrence witnesses who were highly interested.  He further  contended  that  in  the context  of  the  time  of occurrence  and  the manner in which it is alleged  to  have happened  and  the large number of persons involved  in  it, identification  of these appellants by the eye-witnesses was not  possible, and therefore, the Courts below were in error in  convicting the appellants on the basis of such evidence. The  learned  counsel also questioned the identification  of the  appellants  in the T.I.  parade held by the  Magistrate PW-27.   We have perused the impugned judgment and also  the judgment  of  the  learned  Sessions  Judge.   Both  learned Sessions Judge and the High Court took note of the fact that the  deceased  and the occurrence witnesses and the  accused belong  to  rival  factions.  Therefore,  the  Courts  below considered  it  prudent  to look for  corroboration  to  the version   of  the  eye-witnesses   from  other   independent witnesses.   Testing the evidence on such touchstone it  has been  held  that  the involvement of the appellants  in  the incident  as  deposed  by PWs 2 to PW 6 and PW 23  has  been corroborated  by  PW 8 who is admittedly not a  resident  of village  Gogulapadu.  We have also gone through the evidence of  the witnesses to satisfy ourselves if there is any scope for  the  criticism.  We have no hesitation to hold that  on the  facts ad circumstances of the case and on the  material placed  on  record, the Courts below have rightly  convicted and  sentenced  the appellants for the offence committed  by them.  The appeal, being devoid of merits, is dismissed.