IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr.A No.26 of 2003 Date of decision : July 24, 2009 State of H.P. …Appellant. Versus Bidhi Chand …Respondent. Coram The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surjit Singh, Judge. Whether approved for reporting?1 For the Appellant : Mr. Ramesh Thakur, Assistant Advocate General. For the Respondent : Mr. Neeraj Sharma, Advocate, vice Mr. Jagdish Vats, Advocate. Surjit Singh, J (Oral) State has appealed against the judgment, dated 29th August, 2002, of learned trial Court, whereby respondent Bidhi Chand, who was charged with and tried for offences, under Sections 323 and 325 of the Indian Penal Code, has been acquitted. 2. Case of the prosecution, as per evidence on record, may be summed up thus. Smt. Krishna Devi (PW-1) lodged report Ex. PW-1/A with the police, on 5th November, 1997, that on the previous evening at 5 p.m., when she was mowing grass from village common land, which had fallen to her share, respondent Bidhi Chand, accompanied by his son, came there and respondent Bidhi Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? …2… Chand, who was having a Lathi, hit her from behind and dealt a number of blows. One blow landed on her left shoulder and another on the left leg. She raised alarm, on hearing which her mother Labhu Devi (PW-2) came and rescued her. PW-1 Krishna Devi was got medically examined. Medical examination showed fracture of left shoulder. 3. Police investigated the case and challaned the respondent. He was charged with the aforesaid offences and on his pleading not guilty put on trial. Trial Court acquitted the respondent, at the end of the trial. 4. I have heard the learned Assistant Advocate General as also the learned counsel for the respondent and perused the record. 5. Learned trial Court has observed that as per testimony of PW-1 Krishna Devi, report had been lodged at Police Post Khudian, on the very day of the occurrence, i.e. on 4th November, 1997, but no such report has been produced, meaning thereby that the earliest version given to the police has been withheld. Also, the learned trial Court has observed that the testimony of the injured is contradictory to the testimony of other witnesses, including her mother PW-2 Labhu Devi. 6. PW-1 Krishna Devi very categorically stated that the matter was reported to the police on the same …3… day, on which the incident had taken place, but as per record, report was lodged with the police on the next following day at 8.40 a.m. Therefore, possibility cannot be ruled out that the earliest version of the incident has been withheld. May be that the earliest version given to the police on 4th November, 1997, was different to what has been testified by PW-1 Krishna Devi, during the course of trial and what is recorded in Ex. PW-1/A. 7. Again, according to PW-1 Krishna Devi, Danda blows were given to her by the present respondent, but the mother of PW-1 Krishna Devi, namely PW-2 Labhu Devi, stated that when she went to the spot, she saw the Danda in the hand of the son of the respondent and it was he who was giving blows to her daughter with the Danda. According to her, the respondent was wielding a Drati. PW-1 Krishna Devi has nowhere stated that she was dealt blows with a Danda by the son of the respondent. 8. It also appears from the evidence, particularly the testimony of PW-2 Labhu Devi, the mother of injured Krishna Devi that some buffalos had fought near the place of occurrence. PW-2 Labhu Devi stated that she was at her home, when she heard some commotion and gathered the impression that some buffalos had been fighting and the people were trying to disengage them and so she went to the spot and on reaching the spot found her daughter …4… PW-1 Krishna Devi was being dealt Danda blows. PW-1 Krishna Devi’s statement is that after she had been dealt 2-3 blows she raised alarm and it was thereafter that her mother came. If it is so, the testimony of PW-2 Labhu Devi that she saw the respondent or his son dealing blows with Danda is false on the face of it. 9. PW-1 Krishna Devi stated that she had been dealt blows with Daang, which is meant for beating maize corns. Ex P-1 is not a Daang (Lathi), but only a Danda, as it is only 4’5” long, per seizure memo Ex. PW-1/C. Also, it is named as Danda by all the witnesses and not a Daang. 10. It has come in evidence, per testimony of PW-3 Sudershna Devi, a daughter of injured Krishna Devi, that the parties are at dispute over the piece of land from which grass was being mowed by PW-1 Krishna Devi, on the relevant day. 11. Plea of the respondent is that he has been falsely implicated, because of the enmity between the parties, owing to dispute over the piece of land from which PW-1 Krishna Devi was mowing grass. 12. In view of the abovestated position, I do not think this to be a fit case for interfering with the judgment of acquittal. Hence, the appeal is dismissed. July 24, 2009(sd) ( Surjit Singh ), J