1 / 8 2025:CGHC:9009 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRA No. 197 of 2025 1 - Dineshwar Das @ Babli Manikpuri S/o Shri Kheekh Das Manikpuri Aged About 28 Years R/o Giraudpuri, Chowki Giraudpuri, Police Station Gidhauri, Tundra, District- Balauda Bazar- Bhatapara ( C.G. ). ... Appellant versus 1 - The State of Chhattisgarh Through- The Station House Officer, Police Station- Gidhauri- Tundra, District- Balauda Bazar- Bhatapara ( C.G. ). ... Respondent For Appellant : Mr. Vivek Bhakta, Advocate For State : Ms. Prabha Sharma, PL (Hon’ble Shri Justice Arvind Kumar Verma) Order on Board 20/02/2025 1. The instant appeal has been filed against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 20/12/2024 passed by the Second Additional Sessions Judge, Baloda Bazar, C.G. in S.T. No.99/2021 whereby the appellant has been convicted under Section 325 (02 Times) of IPC and ASHUTOSH MISHRA Digitally signed by ASHUTOSH MISHRA Date: 2025.03.05 14:54:04 +0530 2 / 8 sentenced to undergo R.I. for 3-3 years and to pay fine amount of Rs.1000-1000/-, and in default of payment of fine amount to undergo two months additional imprisonment. 2. The prosecution case in brief is that the complainant Smt. Kshama Bai Jaiswal, lodged a written report (Ex. P/8)on 20.04.2021 at around 05:15 pm in the police station Gidhauri-Tundra that her husband Kamlesh Jaiswal, Suklal Patel, Chandra Patel, Khikhdas Manikpuri etc. of the village were playing cards at the house of Khikhdas Manikpuri in village Girodpuri, at that time the accused Dineshwar alias Babli with the intention of committing murder of the people playing cards threw an iron crowbar and a stone from the roof of his house on them, which stone hit the head of the complainant's husband Kamlesh Jaiswal and the iron crowbar hit the head of Suklal Patel. On the basis of the said report a crime number 58/2021 was registered under section 307 IPC. Thereafter, blood stained piece of floor and plain concrete were seized from the place of incident. On 06.07.2021, the memorandum statement of the accused Exhibit P-1 was recorded and on the basis of his memorandum of the accused, an iron crowbar, a stone and a pillow cover were seized from the accused and the accused was arrested. 3. During the course of trial, the appellant abjured his guilt and claimed to be tried. The prosecution on their behalf had examined as many as 10 witnesses. The Court after evaluating the evidence and the 3 / 8 circumstances, in which the incident happened convicted the appellant/accused as aforesaid. Hence this appeal. 4. Learned counsel for the appellant contended that the nature of injury sustained by the victims / injured were simple in nature as in the C.T. Scan report no fracture on the body was found. He would next contend that even the appellant has been falsely implicated by the family members of the victim. He would next contend that the appellant is also not in a fit state of mind which is evident from the statement of Dr. Ashok Kumar Gupta (DW-1). Therefore, the impugned judgment of conviction and order sentence passed by the trial Court is liable to be interfered and the appellant may be acquitted of the charges leveled against him. 5. Per contra, learned State counsel opposes the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the appellant and submits that the order of the Court below is well merited which do not call for any interference. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the evidence. 7. Victim Sukalal Patel (PW-02) has stated that the accused is the resident of his village and stated that about a year ago, Khikhdas, Sevak, Kamlesh, Chandra and Rakesh were playing cards in the square in front of the accused's house when the accused threw a crowbar from his roof and hit them, causing head injury and bleeding. Thereafter, the accused threw a stone at them, causing head injury to Kamlesh. Kamlesh fell 4 / 8 unconscious on the spot and blood started oozing from his ears. After some time, the accused threw a stone at them for the second time, which was stopped by Keshav. This witness has further stated that the police had seized the Jata and the Sabbal from the scene of incident in his presence and prepared the seizure memo which is Exhibit P-3. This witness was declared hostile by the prosecution and on being asked indicative questions, he has admitted that he cannot tell whether the accused had hit him and Kamlesh on the head with the Sabbal and the Jata stone with the intention of murder or not. In cross-examination, this witness has admitted that before the Sabbal fell, I did not see how the crowbar fell. When the crowbar fell, I looked on the roof and found the accused. After the crowbar fell, they got up and ran away. It did not fall where Kamlesh was playing, but it fell below. 8. Injured Kamlesh Jaiswal (PW-09) has stated in his statement that on 20/04/2021 at about 05.15 p.m., accused Dineshwar was playing cards sitting in the square in front of his house in Girodpuri and Chandra Patel, Rakesh, Khikhdas, Sevakram, Firat, Keshav and other people of the village were also present. Chandra, Rakesh, Khikhdas, Sevakram were playing cards with him. While they were playing cards, someone threw a crowbar at him. When he tried to run away, accused Dineshwar threw a stone at him. He was injured on the head by the stone. He does not know what happened to him after that. When he came back from Raipur after getting treatment, Jawahar and Keshav of the village told him that on the 5 / 8 date of the incident, he was hit by a stone and the second stone was stopped by Keshav Patel who was present there, otherwise I would have died that day. This witness further admitted in his cross-examination that Suklal was sitting in front of him. They were engrossed in playing cards. They did not know who was coming or going. After the crowbar fell, he got up to run away. At that time, he was unable to stand and was slipping. His slippers were lying under the platform. 9. Witness Keshav Patel (PW-01) has stated in his statement that the injured Suklal Patel and Kamlesh Jaiswal are also from his village. It was about a year ago when he went out of his house for a walk, he saw that the injured Kamlesh Jaiswal, Suklal, Chandra, Khikhdas, Rakesh and one other person were playing cards near the house of the accused. His house is about 300 meters away from the place of incident. He and Firat were talking to each other at a little distance from the place of incident. At that time, a crowbar fell from the roof of the house of the accused where they were playing cards. The crowbar bounced off the ground and hit Suklal on his head, causing injuries to Suklal. After the crowbar fell, all these people ran away from there in fear. When they went some distance and looked, Kamlesh Jaiswal was lying unconscious at a distance of five to seven feet from where he was playing cards. These people gave water to Keshav & Kamlesh. At the time when the crowbar fell from the roof of the accused, the accused was on his roof and was holding a stone in his hand. The accused threw the stone from 6 / 8 the roof of his house where he was playing cards and then again he threw the stone from the roof of his house and the stone was falling on Kamlesh and he caught that stone with his hand. This witness has supported the memorandum statement (Exhibit P-1), seizure memo (Exhibit P-2) of the crowbar and a spear, seizure memo (Exhibit P-3) and the arrest memo (Exhibit P-4) of the accused. This witness was declared hostile by the prosecution and on being asked suggestive questions, he admitted that he do not known whether the accused had thrown the axe and the plough with the intention of murder. 10. Dr. Rakesh Pradhan (PW-08) has stated that he had medically examined injured Suklal on 29/04/2021 at 01.45 pm. On medical examination, it was found that a scratch mark of size 1X0.5 was present on the frontal ridge of the injured's head. When the injured was brought for medical examination, he was fully conscious. The injured's BP, pulse were normal. The injury to the injured's head was caused by a hard and blunt object. The nature of the injury was normal. The medical examination report given by him is Exhibit P-10. This witness has further stated that on 21/08/2021, an application was brought by constable Shikariram Patel number 873 along with three sealed packets along with the Alajarb for testing. I opened one of the sealed packets for testing and found that:- 1. There was an iron crowbar measuring 48 inches in length, 4.5 inches in thickness and weighing It was 7.8 kg. 7 / 8 2. On opening the second packet it was found that it contained a stone Jota measuring 11.5 inches in diameter and 3.5 inches in thickness with one edge broken and weighing 14.8 kg. 3.On opening the third packet, it was found that it contained a pillow cover of black-red-brown colour whose length was 21.5 inches and width was 13.5 inches. There was a reddish-brown blood-like stain on the above mentioned three items which were sealed and handed back to the same constable after advising him to get them chemically tested. 11. Section 325 of Indian Penal Code provides for punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt. The section reads as follows: - "325. Punishment for voluntarily causing grievous hurt. --Whoever, except in the case provided for by Section 335, voluntarily causes grievous hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine." 12. In order to bring an act under Sections 325/325 of Indian Penal Code, the essential ingredients are that it should be proved that "grievous hurt" as defined under Section 320 of IPC was caused and also that the accused intended and knew himself to be likely to cause grievous hurt. Thus, to convict a person under Section 325 IPC the prosecution must prove that grievous hurt was actually caused and also that the accused intended and knew himself to be likely to cause grievous hurt and he did so voluntarily. 8 / 8 13. As per the injury report, the opinion of the doctor was that the injury was simple in nature. However, there is no such finding by the trial Court that the actual injury endangered the life of the injured Kamlesh Jaiswal (PW-9) or that the injured was admitted in the hospital for a period of 20 days in order to bring the injury within the ambit of Section 320 IPC. 14. In view of the entire facts & circumstances of the case and the evidence of the witnesses and the nature of injury, this Court is of the considered opinion that the appellant should be convicted under Section 324 IPC instead of Section 325 (02 times) IPC. Accordingly, the conviction made under Section 325 (02 times) IPC is altered to conviction under Section 324 IPC and he is sentenced to undergo R.I. for 01 year. Although the fine amount imposed upon the appellant by the trial Court shall remain intact. 15. Accordingly, the appeal is partly allowed. SD/- (Arvind Kumar Verma) JUDGE ashu