ESAKKIMUTHU Vs. STATE REPRESENTED BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) The instant appeals have been preferred by the accusedappellants against the judgment dtd. 10/9/2024 passed by the Madras High Court in Crl. A (MD) No. 218 of 2020 wherein the High Court dismissed the criminal appeal(s) preferred by the appellants and confirmed the conviction and sentence imposed by the Trial Court in a matter involving Ss. 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 [IPC].

(3.) The brief facts forming the basis of the current appeals are as elucidated below. The case at hand involves two accused persons - Pitchu Mani @ Pitchai Mani [Accused No. 1/A1] and Esakkimuthu [Accused No. 2/A2]. As per the prosecution story, PW-1, Moses Livingston, son of the deceased, Edison Suvisedha Muthu ["Deceased", hereinafter] was a resident of South Omanallur village in Tirunelveli district and is the de-facto complainant in the matter. Both the accused persons are also the residents of the same village. The deceased used to know one Balasubramnian, father of A1, and in July, 2011, the deceased was informed to the jurisdictional police by the said Balasubramanian. This had allegedly given rise to a feud between the two parties and led the deceased to attack Balasubramanian, who sustained injuries on his left hand due to the said attack. This ongoing enmity has precisely been ascribed to be the motive by the prosecution behind the murder of the deceased by the appellants, A1 being the son of Balasubramanian and A2 being a relative of A1.