S ARUL RAJA Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are directed against the judgment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dated 05.08.2009. By the said judgment, the High Court reversed the judgment of acquittal of the appellant passed by the Principal Sessions Judge, Tirunelveli, and convicted the appellant, Arul Raja under Section 302 read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC"), and sentenced him to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of 5000/- in default to suffer three months rigorous imprisonment. He was also convicted under Section 307, read with Section 120B of the IPC and sentenced to Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of three years.

(2.) The appellant was convicted for murder, attempted murder, and criminal conspiracy to commit the aforesaid crimes in connection with the death of Sri Aladi Aruna, a former law minister of Tamil Nadu, which occurred on 31.12.2004. The facts in this regard go back to the alleged animosity between the appellant and Aladi Aruna over the years. The Appellant was running several educational institutions in the District of Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari, and had also started an Engineering College at Athiyuthu in 2000. Subsequently, Aladi Aruna himself started an Engineering College, proximate to the one started by the appellant. The relations between both the appellant and Aladi Aruna, who were on good terms until then, were said to have deteriorated after the latters direct involvement in the business sphere of the appellant.

(3.) Furthermore, in the same month in which Anna University granted affiliation to the Engineering College run by Aladi Aruna, it also cancelled the affiliation already accorded to the appellants College. Consequently, many students allegedly left the appellants College to join the institution run by Aladi Aruna. This situation was also alleged to be responsible for increasing the existing tension between both the appellant and Aladi Aruna.