Gosu Jairami Reddy & Anr vs State Of A.P

3. Elections to MPTC/ZPTC were held in July 2001 which saw Gosu Jayaranga Reddy (A3) contesting for M.P.T.C. from Virapuram village, while Gosu Ramchandra Reddy (A1) sought election from the neighbouring Yerraguntapalli village. Both of them were set up by Telugu Desam Party. Electoral contest took a bitter turn when the duo mentioned above sought the support of the deceased M. Chinna Pulla Reddy which he declined for he claimed to be a staunch congressman committed to supporting the candidate set up by his party. It so happened that A1 and A3 were both defeated at the hustings.

4. The accused did not, according to the prosecution, reconcile to the defeat. Instead they started nursing a grudge against M. Chinna Pulla Reddy who was in their view the cause of their humiliation in the electoral battle. The animosity arising out of the electoral debacle of the two accused persons provided the motive for a murderous assault and resultant death of M. Chinna Pulla Reddy on 31st July, 2001 at village Sajjaladinne where the deceased -

5. The prosecution case is that the deceased Shri M. Chinna Pulla Reddy reached his house at Tadipatri from his village in a Tata Sumo Jeep alongwith his son M. Sanjeeva Reddy (PW1) and his nephews M. Rammohan Reddy (PW2) and M. Veeranjaneyuly (PW3). One Hanumanatha Reddy and Mabu also accompanied them. From there the deceased and his companions came to the Slab Polishing Factory at Sajjaladinne at about 5.00 p.m. Hardly had Ganur Shankar the driver of the jeep parked the jeep at the factory office when A1 to A5 entered the factory from the main gate, with A2 carrying bombs and A1 & A3 to A5 carrying hunting sickles. Coming closer, accused Gosu Jayarami Reddy (A2) hurled two bombs towards the Jeep out of which one fell and exploded on the bonnet of the Jeep while the other fell on its left side door and exploded thereby partially damaging the Jeep. The inmates of the Jeep ran for safety in different directions. The deceased also got down from the jeep and started running towards -

the office room of the factory, when A-1 Gosu Ramchandra Reddy and A3 to A5 viz. Gosu Jayaranga Reddy, Gosu Rameshwar Reddy and Gosu Rajagopal Reddy attacked him with the hunting sickles which they were carrying. The prosecution case is that A1 Gosu Ramchanda Reddy hacked the deceased on his head, while A3 Gosu Jayaranga Reddy assaulted him on his neck. A4 Gosu Rameshwar Reddy and A5 Gosu Rajagopal Reddy also similarly hacked the deceased resulting in the death of the deceased on the spot. The entire incident is said to have been witnessed by M. Sanjeeva Reddy (PW1) from behind the workers room and by M. Ram Mohan Reddy (PW2) from the Pial of the Southern door of the office room. The incident was witnessed even by M. Veeranjane Reddy allegedly from the side of the labour room.

6. A written complaint about the occurrence was lodged by M. Sanjeeva Reddy (PW1) on the basis whereof FIR No.85/01 was registered in the Police Station at Tadipatri at 6 p.m. on 31st July, 2001. The police arrived at the scene of occurrence at about 7 p.m., conducted an inquest and sent -

the dead body for post-mortem examination to the Government hospital at Tadipatri. After completion of the investigation, a chargesheet was presented against A1 to A5 and five others for commission of offences punishable under Sections 147, 148 and 302 read with Section 149 IPC and Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, before the Judicial Magistrate, Ist Class, Tadipatri who committed the accused persons to the Court of Sessions at Anantpur. The case was then made over to VIth Additional District and Sessions Judge, (Fast Track) Anantapur before whom the accused persons pleaded not guilty and claimed a trial.

9. Aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the Trial Court the appellants filed Criminal Appeal No.1112 of 2005 before the High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad. The High Court after reappraisal of the entire evidence on record affirmed the conviction and sentence awarded to the appellants and dismissed the appeal. The present appeals by special leave assail the correctness of the said judgment and order.

distance between the place of occurrence and the Police Station as also the distance between the Police Station and the jurisdictional Magistrate's court the delay in lodging of the report and in sending a copy thereof to the Magistrate were significant which would in the absence of any valid explanation render the entire prosecution case, suspect.

30. The other aspect is that the deposition of the doctor establishes the fact that the injuries noticed on the dead body of the deceased had been inflicted by sharp cutting instrument like sickles. It is further stated by the doctor that in all probabiliting the deceased might have died on receipt of the first injury itself. There is nothing in the examination of the eye- witnesses from which the court may infer that the injuries found in the post mortem examination of the deceased could not have been caused by sharp edged sickles that the accused were carrying with them and are said to have used in the course of the incident. The argument that there is a material contradiction between the ocular evidence on the one hand and the medical evidence on the other must therefore fail and is hereby rejected.

34. In the light of the above the non-seizure of the Jeep made no difference to the veracity of the prosecution case.

37. Radhakumari DW2 in her deposition stated that she had studied up to 10th standard and had made an -

42. In the circumstances we see no reason to interfere with the view taken by the courts below. These appeals accordingly fail and are hereby dismissed.