Kartikdas and Others v. State Of Chhattisgarh
Case brief
What is this about?
Chhattisgarh High Court, Bilaspur; CRA No. 358 of 2016; Arvind Kumar Verma, J. (single bench); decided 07.01.2026; NAFR (not for reporting). Acquittal appeal ALLOWED; conviction and sentence dated 22.02.2016 in S.T. No. H-12/2014 (Additional Session Judge, Bhatapara, Baloda Bazar) set aside; appellants Bhukhanlal and Rameshwar acquitted of all charges; appeal of appellant No. 1 Kartikdas abated on his death. Offences: Section 304 Part II IPC (RI 10 years + fine Rs. 500/- each) and Section 323 IPC (SI 6 months + fine Rs. 500/- each, three counts), concurrent. Key grounds: homicidal nature of death of Rooplal not proved (post-mortem report unproved, autopsy surgeon not examined, injury could be from fall); hostile and inconsistent witnesses (PW-1 Kamal Kosle, PW-2 Tirith Kumar, PW-3 Guru Prasad, PW-11 Chandrashekhar Markandey, PW-15 Shivkali, PW-16 Naresh Banjare, PW-17 Ranjit Singh); hostile seizure witness; co-accused Santosh, Sukhmantibai, Meenabai, Amritbai, Kantibai, Jeevanlal, Makhanlal, Ashvinin, Smt. Anjali acquitted on same evidence; conviction simpliciter under Section 304 Part II without Section 34 IPC; no proof of specific overt act. Background: incident 10.02.2014, village Churchutia/Chutchutiya, P.S. Simga, MNREGA road-widening encroachment dispute; FIR No. 50/14 altered from Section 307 to Section 302 IPC; Section 437-A CrPC bond of Rs. 25,000/- with surety. Advocates: Adil Minhaj (appellants); Supriya Upasane (Govt. Advocate) and Isha Jajodiya (Panel Lawyer) for State.