SELVAM Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted in S.L.P. (Crl.) Nos. 575-576 of 2010.

(2.) These Criminal Appeals are against the judgment dated 12.12.2008 of the Madras High Court, Madurai Bench, in Criminal Appeal Nos.200-201 of 2008.

(3.) The facts very briefly are that on 16.11.2006 at 21:00 Hrs. a First Information Report (for short 'FIR') was lodged in Ganesh Nagar Police Station pursuant to a statement of Meyyappan recorded by the Sub- Inspector of Police. In this FIR, it is stated thus: Mayyappan lived at the Thethampatti, Thiruvarangulam, alongwith his family and that there was a dispute pending between his family and the family of Arangan over land. On 15.11.2006 at 11.00 a.m. Mariappan, who belongs to the family of Arangan, died and the family of Arangan wanted to take the burial procession through house street of Meyyappan and his family members but Meyyappan's younger brother Chinnadurai and his father Rengaiah appealed to the important persons of the village saying that there was a separate public pathway for taking the dead body to the cremation ground and the village head and other villagers accordingly requested the members of the family of Arangan to carry the dead body of Mariappan through that public pathway. On 16.11.2006 at about 15:00 Hrs. Arangan and his brothers, Meyyappan, Murugan, Subbaiah, Chidambaram, Senthil, Selvam and others, armed with aruvals and sticks came to the family house of Meyyappan and asked his family members to come out and thereafter Arangan and Senthil delivered a cut on Chinnadurai and Selvam and others assaulted them with sticks and Chinnadurai was first taken to the government hospital and thereafter to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital for treatment.