DULESHWAR & ANR. versus THE STATE OF M.P. (NOW CHHATTISGARH)

DULESHWAR & ANR. versus THE STATE OF M.P. (NOW CHHATTISGARH)

The Court held that formation of an unlawful assembly armed with lathis and tangiyas and the common object to assault and batter the deceased to death was established by consistent eyewitness testimony (notably PW-2, PW-3, PW-4 and PW-5) and corroborated by recovery of blood-stained weapons and clothes; accordingly convictions of appellants A-1, A-2, A-5, A-7 and A-12 for offences under Sections 147, 148 and 302/149 IPC were sustained, whereas prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the involvement of A-8 and A-13 who were acquitted.

Parties
Appellants: Duleshwar & Anr.; Respondent: State of M.P. (now Chhattisgarh)
Jurisdiction
India
Judgment Date
21 January 2020
Procedural Posture
Criminal Appeal / Judgment on Appeal to the Supreme Court
Outcome
Criminal Appeal Nos. 1813 and 1815 of 2017 dismissed; Criminal Appeal No. 1814 of 2017 allowed in part; convictions of certain appellants affirmed and two appellants acquitted
Legal Topics
Unlawful Assembly, Section 149 IPC, Murder (section 302 Ipc), Grievous Hurt (section 325 Ipc), Eyewitness Identification, Recovery and Forensic Corroboration
Criminal Law Evidence Unlawful Assembly Section 149 IPC Murder (section 302 Ipc) Grievous Hurt (section 325 Ipc) Eyewitness Identification Recovery and Forensic Corroboration

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Parties

Duleshwar & Anr.

Appellants

State of M.P. (now Chhattisgarh)

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Appeal / Judgment on Appeal to the Supreme Court

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether formation of an unlawful assembly with common object to cause death was established
  2. 2 Whether prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that each appellant was a member of the assembly that caused death of Govind Singh
  3. 3 Whether convictions of appellants A-8 (Khemuram) and A-13 (Lakhan) were sustainable

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that formation of an unlawful assembly armed with lathis and tangiyas and the common object to assault and batter the deceased to death was established by consistent eyewitness testimony (notably PW-2, PW-3, PW-4 and PW-5) and corroborated by recovery of blood-stained weapons and clothes; accordingly convictions of appellants A-1, A-2, A-5, A-7 and A-12 for offences under Sections 147, 148 and 302/149 IPC were sustained, whereas prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the involvement of A-8 and A-13 who were acquitted.

Court Disposition

Criminal Appeal Nos. 1813 and 1815 of 2017 dismissed; Criminal Appeal No. 1814 of 2017 allowed in part; convictions of certain appellants affirmed and two appellants acquitted

Orders

  • Criminal Appeal Nos. 1813 of 2017 and 1815 of 2017 dismissed
  • Criminal Appeal No. 1814 of 2017 allowed in part