Bombay High Court
Mahesh Manohar Naik vs The State Of Maharashtra on 2 February, 2026
Author: R.N. Laddha
Bench: R.N. Laddha
2026:BHC-AS:5367
Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
Criminal Revision Application No.7 of 2004
Mahesh Manohar Naik,
Age 29 years, resident of -
Lokmanya Nagar, Pada No.4,
Dashrath Chawl, Thane.
[At present in Central Prison, Thane] ... Applicant
Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra
2. Kum. Manda Deshmukh
@ Trupti Acharya,
Age adult, residing at -
Shaligram House,
Opp. Old Corporation Office,
Station Road, Thane. ... Respondents
----
None for the applicant.
Mr Shailesh Chavan, Appointed Advocate through Legal Aid
for the applicant.
Mr Arfan Sait, APP, for respondent No.1/ State.
None for respondent No.2.
----
Coram: R.N. Laddha, J.
Date: 2 February 2026.
P.C.:
The present revision application assails the concurrent findings of conviction recorded by the judgment and order Page 1 of 9 __________________________________________________
2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx dated 9 July 2002 passed by the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, Thane, in Sessions Case No.703 of 1998, convicting the applicant for the offence punishable under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code ('IPC'), and confirmed by the judgment and order dated 30 October 2003 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Thane, in Criminal Appeal No.39 of 2002. The applicant was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and pay a fine of Rs.12,000/-, with default stipulations.
2. At the outset, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor hands in a report issued by the Superintendent of the Kolhapur Central Prison, Kalamba, Kolhapur, and submits that the applicant has already undergone the entire sentence and was released from custody upon completion thereof on 7 October 2008. The present revision application has remained pending since 2004. On 14 January 2026 and 22 January 2026, when the matter was listed for hearing, no one appeared on behalf of the applicant or respondent No.2. Even today, there is no appearance for the applicant or respondent No.2. It is well settled that a criminal revision application is required to be decided on its merits in accordance with law, even in the absence of a party or their Counsel. As the revision application cannot be disposed of solely on the ground that the applicant Page 2 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx has already undergone the sentence imposed, this Court deems it appropriate to appoint Mr Shailesh Chavan, who is present in the Court, to represent and espouse the cause of the applicant.
3. The learned Counsel appointed for the applicant seeks leave to amend the prayer clause. Leave granted as prayed for. The necessary amendment shall be carried out forthwith.
4. With the able assistance of the learned Counsel representing the applicant and the learned APP, I have carefully perused the entire record and proceedings.
5. The prosecution's case, in essence, is that the injured, Manda Deshmukh alias Trupti Acharya (PW-1), was working as a DTP operator in the printing press owned by Anil Shaligram (PW-7), whose wife is her sister. The complainant, Prakash Dalvi (PW-3), was employed as a press machine operator in the same establishment. The applicant was undertaking binding work for the press on a contractual basis, which was discontinued prior to the incident. On 15 April 1998, the applicant visited the printing press twice and had altercations with Manda. He also issued threats to Anil and Manda over the telephone. The following day, at about 10:30 a.m., while Manda was working in the basement of the press, the applicant entered the premises and assaulted her with a penknife, causing Page 3 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx multiple stab injuries to vital parts of her body. After the assault, the applicant fled from the spot. On hearing the shouts, the complainant rushed to the staircase and found Manda bleeding profusely. Upon enquiry, she disclosed that the applicant had stabbed her. She was immediately shifted to the Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.
6. At trial, the prosecution examined as many as ten witnesses, viz., Manda Deshmukh alias Trupti Acharya, the injured victim (PW-1); Sanjay Inamdar, the panch witness to the arrest panchnama (PW-2); Prakash Dalvi, the complainant (PW-
3); Deepak Mhatre, the panch witness to the seizure of clothes (PW-4); Dr Prakash Bhadkamkar, the doctor who conducted the initial examination of the victim (PW-5); Baban Ailani, the panch witness to the spot panchnama (PW-6); Anil Shaligram, the owner of the printing press (PW-7); Dr Rajesh Adhav, the medical officer at Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital, who treated the victim (PW-8); Vipin Hasabnis, the investigating officer (PW-9); and Dr Ramprasanna Naik, the Surgeon (PW-10). After the completion of the prosecution evidence, the statement of the applicant was recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, wherein he took the defence of false implication on account of an alleged monetary dispute relating to binding charges. However, he did not lead any oral or Page 4 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx documentary evidence in his defence, nor did he examine any witness to substantiate the said plea.
7. After an appraisal of the evidence, the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, Thane, convicted the applicant for the offence punishable under Section 307 of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs.12,000/-, with default stipulations. Aggrieved, the applicant preferred an appeal before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Thane, which was dismissed. Dissatisfied with the concurrent findings, the applicant filed the present revision application.
8. From a perusal of the testimony of PW-1, the injured, it appears that PW-1 categorically deposed about the assault by the applicant with a knife and the manner in which multiple blows were inflicted. Her cross-examination does not bring on record any material contradiction or omission touching the core of the prosecution's case. No motive has been suggested as to why she would falsely implicate the accused, particularly when she herself sustained life-threatening injuries. It is a well- settled principle that the testimony of an injured witness stands on a higher pedestal, as the presence of such a witness at the place of occurrence cannot be doubted, and ordinarily an Page 5 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx injured person would not shield the real assailant and falsely implicate another.
9. The testimony of PW-3 lends assurance to the testimony of the injured. Though he is not an eyewitness to the actual assault, his presence at the place of occurrence is natural. He has consistently stated that on hearing shouts, he rushed to the staircase, saw the injured bleeding from her abdomen and arms, and on enquiry, she disclosed that the accused had assaulted her. His conduct in immediately arranging medical help and lodging the complaint is consistent with normal human behaviour. Merely because he did not see the entry of the applicant into the basement does not in any manner weaken the prosecution's case, particularly when the injured herself has named the accused at the earliest point in time.
10. The applicant, in his defence, attempted to contend that the injured was unconscious and therefore incapable of disclosing the name of the assailant. This contention stands completely demolished by the medical evidence. PW-5, who examined the injured immediately after the incident, has clearly stated that she was conscious and oriented, though her condition was serious and liver injury was suspected. PW-8, who examined her at Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital, Kalwa, has Page 6 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx also stated that she was conscious when brought to the casualty. Thus, the medical evidence unmistakably establishes that the injured was in a position to speak and disclose the name of the assailant soon after the incident.
11. The nature and extent of injuries further fortify the prosecution's case. The testimonies of PW-8 and PW-10 prove that the injured sustained multiple incised wounds, including a deep incised wound on the abdomen, causing a liver tear. PW- 10 has specifically opined that several injuries were grievous and that injury No.1, in particular, was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. The location of injuries on vital parts of the body, the weapon used, and the force applied unmistakably indicate the intention of the accused to cause death.
12. The circumstantial and forensic evidence also support the ocular and medical evidence. The spot panchnama proved through PW-6 shows recovery of a blood-stained penknife and scarf (odhani) from the place of occurrence. The arrest panchnama, as proved by PW-2, records blood stains on the clothes of the applicant and an injury on his finger, which corroborates the version of PW-1 that the applicant sustained injury while she resisted the assault. The Chemical Analyser's Page 7 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx report establishes that the blood of group 'AB', which was the blood group of PW-1, was found on the shirt of the applicant. This is a highly incriminating circumstance connecting the applicant with the crime.
13. The applicant's plea of false implication on account of a monetary dispute is wholly unsubstantiated. Even assuming that there was some dispute regarding payment for binding work, the same by itself cannot be a ground to discard the consistent and cogent evidence of an injured witness supported by medical and forensic material. No evidence has been adduced to show that such a dispute was of such a nature that the injured would falsely implicate the accused in a serious offence involving an attempt to murder.
14. The minor omissions or trivial discrepancies highlighted in the evidence are inconsequential and do not impinge upon the core substratum of the prosecution's case. It is a settled proposition of law that minor contradictions are inherent in truthful testimony, and only those inconsistencies which strike at the root of the matter can furnish a valid ground for discarding the prosecution version. In the present case, no such material infirmity has been demonstrated.
15. Upon a careful examination of the records, this Court is Page 8 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 ::: Chitra Sonawane. 16-CRA-7-2004.docx of the considered view that the findings recorded by the learned trial Court, as confirmed by the learned appellate Court, are based on a proper appreciation of evidence and settled principles of criminal jurisprudence. The conclusions drawn are reasonable and supported by the record. No perversity, illegality, or miscarriage of justice is shown so as to warrant interference in revisional jurisdiction.
16. In light of the foregoing discussion, the present criminal application is devoid of merit and stands dismissed accordingly.
[R.N. Laddha, J.] Page 9 of 9 __________________________________________________ 2 February 2026 ::: Uploaded on - 03/02/2026 ::: Downloaded on - 03/02/2026 20:39:16 :::