Thane Sessions Court Upholds Conviction Of Mira Road Man For Assaulting On-Duty Police Personnel; Dismisses Appeal After 10 Years

Thane, May 6: A sessions court in Thane has dismissed an appeal filed by a Mira Road-based man, Putta Swami Gauda, who was convicted for assaulting on-duty police personnel, upholding the trial court’s judgment and sentence in a case dating back to 2011.

Sessions court upholds conviction in assault case

The court, in its order, observed: “Considering the nature and gravity of the offence and the sentence awarded by the Magistrate, which is sentence to undergo SI for the term of one month and to pay fine for the commission of offence punishable under Section 353 of the IPC and the sentence to pay fine only for the offence under the Maharashtra Police Act, and considering the fact that after presentation of the appeal and suspension of sentence, the accused has not turned up to the court in the pursuit of the appeal, the award of sentence by the Magistrate does not call for interference, particularly when the offence of assaulting police officials in the midnight time, who were exercising their duty for the safety of others, has wide repercussions in society.”

Additional Sessions Judge D. R. Deshpande, in an order passed on May 4, 2026, confirmed the conviction of the accused under Section 353 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, observing that the prosecution had successfully proved obstruction and assault on public servants performing their duties.

Appeal challenged 2016 magistrate court order

The appeal challenged a January 2016 order of a Magistrate’s court, which had sentenced Gauda to one month of simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 500 for assaulting a police officer, along with an additional fine under the Maharashtra Police Act.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred in the early hours of April 7, 2011, when two police personnel on patrol found a hotel in Mira Road operating beyond permissible hours. Upon questioning the accused about the violation, he allegedly became aggressive, caught hold of a constable’s collar, and scuffled with the officers while also issuing threats.

An FIR was registered within half an hour of the incident, strengthening the prosecution’s case by ruling out any possibility of fabrication, the court noted.

Court relies on police testimonies and prompt FIR

The court observed, “The instantaneous and immediate lodging of the FIR soon after the alleged incident rules out afterthought narrations and adds to the reliability of otherwise trustworthy evidence of the eyewitnesses, whose evidence is not only consistent with each other but is more unanimous than divergent. Moreover, the suggestions offered on behalf of the accused do make out his presence at the spot of the incident. In such circumstances, merely because written orders have not been placed on record to show that the informant and another police official were on patrolling duty at the relevant time, their testimony cannot be falsified.”

The appellate court relied heavily on the consistent and corroborative testimonies of the two police witnesses, noting that their statements remained “unshaken” during cross-examination. It rejected the defence argument that the absence of independent witnesses weakened the case.

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Accused absent during appellate proceedings

The court further held that merely because documentary proof of patrol duty was not produced, the testimony of police officers could not be discarded.

It also took note of the accused’s absence during the appellate proceedings, observing that he failed to avail opportunities to argue his case.

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