STATE OF KARNATAKA Vs. BABU POOJARY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State has filed this appeal questioning the legality and correctness of the judgement and order of acquittal dated May 26, 1982 passed by the Addl. Sessions Judge, Dakshina Kannada, in Sessions Case No. 3 of 1982 acquitting the respondents - A-1 to A3 of the charge of the offence of murder punishable under Section 302 I.P.C., read with Section 34 I.P.C. as also of the charge of the offences punishable under Sections 448, 323 and 324 I.P.C., as levelled against them.

(2.) One Aiyappa Poojary of Surlimoole in Vittal Kasaba village, Bantwal Taluk. Dakshina Kannada District, is the deceased. A-3 Smt. Kamala is his wife. A-2 Sadashiva is his son, i.e., A-3's sister,s daughter is given in marriage to the nephew of A-1. The deceased was suspecting fidelity of A-3, his wife, and that had given cause for the difference between him and A-3. He was living all alone separately in a house situated in the Dark- hast land allotted to him by the Government. He had erected a small house covered by thatched roof. The house was surrounded by dwarf walls on three sides with a thattiwali on the other side with a thatti door. He used to work as a cooly and make his living. On September 27, 1981 when he returne'd back to his house in the evening, he found his steel trunk containing clothes and other utensils was missing. He suspected the hand of A-3 and went to the house where she was putting up with A-2 and abused her and returned back to his house. When he was sleeping there in the hut, it is the prosecution case, at about 11 or 11-30 P.M., the three accused broke open the thatti wall and, having trespassed into the house, started assaulting the deceased - A-1 and A-2 assaulted him with knives and A-3 assaulted him with hands. She gave fist-blows on the chest and abdomen. The deceased, having sustained injuries, kept himself lying pretending to have died and the accused, thereafter, left the house. The deceased, thereafter, almost naked with a loin-cloth, went With injuries on his person to the house of P.W.I. Ismail Beary and woke him up and informed him about what had happened. He told him that his son Sadashiva and Babu Poojary had assaulted him by means of Knives. P.W.1. Ismail Beary then went to the house of P.W. 2 Veerappa Poojary, uncle of the deceased, and told him about what had happened and returned back. As P.W. 2 was near the deceased, he went to bring an autorickshaw. When questioned by P.W. 2 Veerappa Poojary, the deceased told before him also that Babu Poojary and Sadashiva as also his wife Kamala had assaulted him. When P.W. 1 returned with an autorickshaw driven by P.W. 3 Thimmappa Shetty, P.W. 1 and 2 together took the deceased in the autorickshaw to the Primary Health Centre at Vittal. P.W. 11 Dr. Nanjaiah, who was on duty in the hospital, examined and found that the deceased had sustained 15 injuries as follows :-

(3.) The defence of the accused was one of total denial of their complicity in the commission of the offences