GUDIPALLI SIDDHARTHA REDDY Vs. STATE C.B.I.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeals have been filed challenging the common judgment and order dtd. 28/12/2011 passed by the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Criminal Appeal No. 405 of 2004 and Criminal Revision Case No. 2055 of 2004, whereby the criminal appeal filed by the Appellant-Accused and the criminal revision filed by the mother of the deceased were dismissed. By way of the Impugned Judgment, the High Court reduced the sentence for offence punishable under Sec. 306 IPC to two years but increased the fine to Rs.50,000.00.

(2.) It is pertinent to mention that the Criminal Appeal and Criminal Revision were filed against the judgment dtd. 23/2/2004 in Sessions Case No.88 of 2003, whereby the Appellant-Accused was convicted for offences punishable under Ss. 306 and 309 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC") and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for five years and fined Rs.5,000.00 under Sec. 306 IPC and one year simple imprisonment and fined Rs.1,000.00 under Sec. 309 IPC.

(3.) The deceased Ms. Pratyusha was an actress, who had acted as a heroine in a number of feature films in South India. The Appellant-Accused was an engineering student. They had known each other close to a decade and wanted to marry each other. Smt. Sarojini Devi (PW-1), mother of the deceased and Appellant in Criminal Appeal Nos.894-895 of 2012 was initially opposed to the marriage but had subsequently agreed to it. However, the parents of the Appellant-Accused were opposed to the marriage and the mother of the Appellant-Accused had even threatened to commit suicide in the event the Appellant-Accused married the deceased.