B.S. Chauhan JUDGMENT
B.S. Chauhan, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. These appeals and other connected appeals have been preferred against the judgment and order dated 22.12.2009 of the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, passed in Special Criminal Application Nos. 1675/2008, 1679/2008 with Crl. Misc. Application Nos. 8249/2009, 8361/2009, 8363/2009 and 7687/2009.
3. Facts and circumstances giving rise to the present cases are that on 7.7.2008, some altercation took place between members of the Bharwad and the Koli Patel communities over the plying of rickshaws in the area surrounding Dhedhal village of Distt. Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The Bharwad community had been preventing the Koli Patels from running their rickshaws in the said area.
On the next day, i.e. on 8.7.2008, case No. C.R. No. I- 154/2008, was registered at 17:30 hours in the Bavla Police Station under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 307, 332, 333, 436 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter called as "IPC") read with Section 135 of the Bombay Police Act, 1951 (for short "BP Act") and Sections 3, 7 of Prevention of Damages of Public Property Act, 1984 (for short "1984 Act") for an incident which occurred at Village Dhedhal, wherein Mr. M.N. Pandya, Sub-Inspector of Police, Bavla Police Station has stated that while he was patrolling in Bavla Town, he received a message from H.C. Kanaiyalal, Police Station Officer, at 10.00 a.m. that some altercation/incident had taken place between the two communities at Dhedhal Cross Roads. On receiving the said information, he along with other police personnel, rushed to the place of incident, however, by that time the crowd had already dispersed. Thereafter, he received information that a clash was going on between the said two communities in Dhedhal village. Immediately, he contacted the Control Room, as well as the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Dholka, for further police support and rushed to the spot where he found about 2000-3000 persons from both the communities, all with sticks, dhariyas, swords etc., attacking each other. The police resorted to teargas shells as well as to lathi charges to disperse the crowd. Several rounds of firing were resorted to in order to disperse the mob. In the incident, more than 20 persons were injured and three houses of members of the Bharwad community were set on fire. One person, namely Ajitbhai Prahladbhai, also died. Several police personnel were also injured. No person was named in the said FIR.
4. Another FIR, being Case No. C.R. No. I-155 of 2008, wa........