JUDGEMENT
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(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.