MALLAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The wheels of justice may grind slow, but they grind fine. Mallappa S/o Ningappa Kanner, Hanamanth S/o Ningappa Kanner and Dharamanna S/o Ningappa Kanner are the appellants before us who were put on a trial, as accused no. 3, 4 and 5, for the commission of murder of deceased namely Marthandappa and were acquitted by the Trial Court/Fast Track Court-I at Gulbarga on 24/3/2005. The judgment was not meant to finally seal the fate of the appellants as the State of Karnataka preferred an appeal against the order of the Trial Court before the High Court of Karnataka which was registered as Criminal Appeal No. 1363/2005. On 31/5/2010, the High Court reversed the order of acquittal and held the appellants guilty of the commission of murder of deceased Marthandappa. Accordingly, the appellants stood convicted and were sentenced to undergo life imprisonment. The appellants stand before us assailing the order of conviction of the High Court and praying for a declaration of innocence.

(2.) Pertinently, eight accused persons were tried and acquitted by the Trial Court. The High Court agreed with the acquittal of all the accused persons, except the three appellants before us.

(3.) The case of the prosecution begins from one Nagamma, who is the wife of Accused No. 5 and deceased Marthandappa was allegedly having an illicit relationship with her. On account of the alleged illicit relationship, the relations between A1-A8 and Marthandappa were strained. On 28/6/1997, the fateful day, Marthandappa (the deceased), PW3 and PW4 were travelling in a bullock-cart from village Aidbhavi to the village Nagaral for cultivating their lands. They left the house of PW-2 (father of the deceased) at around 9 A.M. in a bullock cart to go to village Nagaral. PW-2 had agricultural lands at Aidbhavi as well as Nagaral. While they were travelling to village Nagaral, they crossed village Shantpur as they were proceeding on the bullock- cart towards Nagaral village. At around 4 P.M., when their bullock-cart arrived near the land of Balwantappa Channur, A1 to A8 came out of their hiding place and stopped the bullock-cart.