MP 1 APPLN1605_10 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 1605 OF 2010 The State of Maharashtra ... Applicant Versus Vasant Gopal Pati and others ... Respondents Mr. Y. M. Nakhwa, APP for the Applicant State. CORAM : J. H. BHATIA, J. DATE : 14TH OCTOBER 2011 P. C. : Heard the learned APP. Perused the impugned judgment. 2. The State seeks leave to prefer appeal against the order of acquittal passed by the learned Sessions Judge-3, Kolhapur in Sessions Case No. 86 of 2008, whereby the accused-respondents were acquitted of the charges under Sections 323, 352, 504, 427 r/w. Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 3(1)(x) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. According to the prosecution, the complainant P.W.1 Saraswati Nandkumar Pol had kept cow dung cakes for drying. The accused persons had cut the sugarcane crop in their field and piled up the same on the same spot where the cow dung cakes were lying. Therefore, the complainant objected and it resulted into some quarrel. The accused persons allegedly assaulted her with the stick causing injuries and also abused her in the name of caste. The learned trial Court acquitted the accused by finding that the medical evidence was contradictory to the oral evidence because according to the complainant, she had suffered injury on the right knee, while as per the medical evidence, injury was on the left knee. The learned trial Court also found that there were discrepancies in the words used by different witnesses in respect of abuses in the name of caste. There were also material omissions in respect of that. It was also noted that there were no houses around nor any third person was present when the alleged abuses MP 2 APPLN1605_10 were uttered by the accused persons. P.W.2, who claimed to be the independent witness, had come to the spot after the incident was over. Therefore, according to the trial Court, it cannot be said that the accused was insulted or humiliated in the name of caste in the public place. 3. Taking into consideration the material on record and the observations made by the trial Court, I find no substance in the appeal. 4. Therefore, the leave to prefer appeal against acquittal is refused. Application stands rejected. (J. H. BHATIA, J)