THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL APPEAL No.1351 OF 2004 DATED 14th DECEMBER, 2010. BETWEEN : V.Srinivasulureddi & others ..Appellants-accused and The State of A.P. ..Respondent THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO CRIMINAL APPEAL No.1351 OF 2004 JUDGMENT: This is an appeal arising out of conviction and sentence imposed on the appellants-A.1 to A.13 in Sessions Case No.57 of 2000 on the file of the Special Judge For Trial Of Offences Under SCs & STs (POA) Act, by judgment dated 23.05.2004 wherein the accused were convicted under Section 235 (2) Cr.P.C. for the offence punishable under Sections 148 and 324 read with 149 of Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’) and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months under each count. However, the learned trial Judge acquitted the accused for certain other offences. The allegations levelled against the appellants are that the accused belong to Congress Party and PWs 1 to 6 and 10 to 13 are the Harijans belonging to Telugu Desam Party. Due to political rivalries, on 04.07.1995 accused formed into an unlawful assembly and with a common object to attack TDP group harijans went to Harijanwada at 7.00 p.m. and hurled bombs on harijans, created havoc, abused them as ‘MALA NAKODAKALLARA MEERU GELICHINAARANUKUNTUNNARA MEE ANTHU CHUSTAM CHAMPANDIRA NAA KODUKULUNU’. During such attack with bombs, PWs 1 to 5 sustained injuries. Hence, the case. In order to prove its case Prosecution got examined PWs 1 to 14 and marked Exs.P.1 to P.16. When examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. accused denied the incriminating circumstances read over to them and they did not choose to adduce any oral or documentary evidence on their behalf. After evaluating the entire evidence on record, the learned trial Judge convicted the accused as stated above. Heard. After arguing for sometime, the learned counsel for the appellants confined his arguments only to the extent of imposition of sentence and prayed this Court to show some indulgence on the appellants. In view of the said submission of the learned counsel for the appellants, the merits and demerits of the prosecution case and impugned judgment need not be adjudicated now. Taking into consideration the submissions of the learned counsel for the appellants and long pendency of the case this Court is of the view that some lenience can be shown towards the appellants. Accordingly, the conviction imposed by the learned trial Judge is hereby confirmed. However, the sentence of imprisonment imposed on the appellants is hereby reduced to that of the period already undergone by them in prison. The remaining portion of the impugned judgment imposed shall stand unchanged. With above modification, the Criminal Appeal is disposed of. ________________________ JUSTICE RAJA ELANGO Dated : 14.12.2010 sur