STATE OF KERALA Vs. P V MATHEW

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A History-sheeter erased from the records of the police as also the face of the earth in a homicide. The accused herein were arraigned as accused 1 and 2 before the Sessions Court on charges of having caused the death of one Eli Mani @ Vijayan. The charge was that after rendering him unconscious by intoxication Accused 1 and 2 delivered 4 to 5 blows on him, with the blunt portion of MO5 weapon ( ), in furtherance of their common intention to cause his death and then caused disappearance of evidence by removing the blood stains and throwing away the weapon used for the commission of the crime. The accused were charged under Sections 302 and 201 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code. On committal made by the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Kolencherry, the accused stood trial before the 5th Additional Sessions Court, Ernakulam, which court after considering the entire evidence, acquitted the first accused, affording him the benefit of reasonable doubt and the second accused for a complete lack of acceptable evidence against him. The State is in appeal before us, challenging that the appreciation of evidence by the trial court was perverse and that the Sessions Court has not considered the convincing evidence corroborated by the material circumstances. The trial court has detailed the facts leading to the charge and has considered the circumstances relied on by the prosecution; and we do not deem it necessary to repeat it in appeal.

(2.) The investigation was set in motion with the discovery of an unidentified body lying in a canal by name Kumbalappilly, near Kattachira Bund at Kokkappillikkara. The First Information Report was registered on the information supplied by PW1, an Advocate and the ward member of the Panchayat. In the morning of 7.1.2001 PW1 was informed of a person having been found lying dead in the canal, coming within the panchayat ward of which he is a member. PW1 having proceeded to the site, confirmed the fact and immediately gave First Information Statement before the Sub Inspector of Police, Puthencruz, PW15. On the basis of Ext.P1 FI statement, Ext.P1 (a) FIR was registered by PW15 as suspicious death, since at that point of time the cause of death and the identity of the person were not clear. PW15 immediately proceeded to the site and conducted inquest of the body and prepared Ext.P2 inquest report. The body was found in the canal near an unnumbered concrete store room situated in the bank of the canal; used for storing the planks of the check-dam in the canal. Body was found immersed in water; in the canal. On taking out the body; as per the identification made by the local people, it was identified as that of Vijayan @ Eli Mani S/o. Mathai aged around 40 years. The body on examination was found to contain three open wounds on the head and two open wounds on the face. A sword which was lying inside the water adjacent to the dead body was also recovered as per the inquest report. This sword was subsequently revealed to be that of the deceased and is not the weapon which caused the injuries.

(3.) The investigation was taken over by the Circle Inspector of Police, PW16 and Ext.P15 report dated 8.1.2001 was filed seeking deletion of the caption "suspicious death" and addition of Section 302 IPC in Ext.P1(a) FIR. The appellants were arrested on 7.2.2001 and Ext.P18 report was filed before the JFCM Court seeking arraignment of the appellants as accused in Crime No.6 of 2001 under Sections 302 and 201 read with Section 34 IPC. The Court then framed charges on the basis of final report and conducted trial in which 16 witnesses were examined for the prosecution and Ext.P1 to P24 were proved as exhibits; and MOs 1 to 15 were marked as material objects, for the prosecution. The appellants entered a defence of total denial and marked Exts.D1 to D3 case diary contradictions and two documents as D4 and D5. The prosecution case as projected in trial was that the first accused due to previous animosity towards the deceased, along with the second accused, a friend, committed the murder of the deceased in furtherance of their common intention and threw his body into the canal and attempted to efface evidence by washing away the blood stains in the concrete store room and by throwing away the weapon used for commission of the offence.