Karnataka High Court Convicts 10 Persons For Barging Into Harijan Colony & Assaulting Dalits
Case: Lakshmamma AND D R Sudeep and Others
Coram: Justice J M Khazi
Case No.: CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.876 OF 2011
Court Observation: “Though at this stage, the accused have come up with several reasons for taking lenient view, this Court cannot lose the sight of the fact that without any justification, the accused have chosen to enter the Harijan colony and indiscriminately assault the complainant and others for the simple reason that two of them approached the police and complain against accused No.1 Sudeep with regard to an incident which took place in the land of PW-19 Shivamurthy. The accused have chosen to assault the complainant and others for the simple reason that though they belong to Schedule Caste, they had the courage or audacity of complaining against a person belonging to the forward community.”
“The cumulative reading of the evidence of the injured witness clearly prove the complicity of the accused persons and the reason for the assault carried out on them is the fact that PW-19 and 20 choose to complain the high-handed act of accused No.1 Sudeep in assaulting them when they went to work in the land of PW-11 Gopalakrishna. They were angry that PW-19 and 20 had the audacity of complaining against them despite belonging to the Scheduled Caste.”
“Being injured, their presence at the scene of occurrence is guaranteed the evidence of these witnesses lend support to the prosecution case. Absolutely, they have no motive to falsely implicate the accused persons.”
“Without examining the entire evidence on record, including the documents, the trial Court has erred in making an observation that the complainant and FIR are anti-dated and thereby thrown away the entire prosecution case as false and set up. The trial Court cannot stop by just making an observation that the complaint and FIR are anti-dated. It has to state as to how the prosecution is benefited by it or the accused are prejudiced.”
“The trial Court has not at all examined the testimony of injured/eyewitnesses and given reasons as to why he would not believe their evidence, except making an observation at para No-31 that the prosecution case created a lot of doubt and the complaint at Ex.P2 is created. It has observed that thousands of persons have participated in the incident which is not even the case of the prosecution. Of course a number of persons have acted in a concerted manner and after detailed investigation, the Investigating Officer has arraigned those persons against whom the evidence has come as accused. That itself would not make the prosecution case false or concocted.”
“The view taken by the trial Court is wholly unreasonable and is not a plausible view. Certainly, there is non-consideration of evidence placed on record. There is also palpable misreading of evidence and consequently, the conclusions arrived at by the trial Court is perverse.”
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Karnataka High Court Convicts 10 Persons
