POSHAKADANTHA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal filed by accused Nos. 1 and 2 challenging the order of conviction and sentence dated 15-5-2004 passed in SC no. 68/2002 by the District and Sessions Judge, Fast Tract Court-II shimoga, convicting the appellants/accused for the offences punishable u/s. 302 and 201 r/w. Section 34 of the IPC, and sentencing them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of rs. 5000/- each, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for further period of six months for the offence punishable u/s 302 r/w. 34 of IPC and further sentencing them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 3 years and to pay fine of Rs. 1,000/- each, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for another period of three months for the offence punishable U/s 201 r/w 34 of IPC. It is ordered that substantive sentences shall run concurrently.

(2.) THE case of the prosectuion in brief is that: on 5-3-2002, the complainant-P. M. Rudrappa (PW. 1) had been to his garden land in Sy. No. 90 of Harobenavalli village at about 6. 00 p. m. and found the dead body of a male person aged between 25 to 30 years on the bank of Badhra Left Bank Channel abutting his garden land; he also noticed that the hands of the dead body were tied with the rope and the neck with a wire and the face and other parts were eaten away by the water animals here and there; he suspected that some one must have committed murder and thrown the dead body into channel; he went to Holehonnur police station and lodged complaint as per Ex. P 1 at about 10. 30 p. m. ; that the Police sub-Inspector of Holehonnur police Station (PW. 16), on receipt of complaint from PW. 1 registered a case in Crime No. 37/2002 and forwarded FIR (Ex. P16) to the jurisdictional Magistrate; the further investigation was handed over by PW 16 to the Circle Police inspector (PW17), who took over the further investigation and during the course of investigation, it came to his notice that it was Accused-appellants 1 and 2 herein who are the residents of Bhadravathi and Shimoga respectively had committed the offence of murder, he, after completion of the investigation, filed charge sheet against the accused-appellants herein for the offences punishable U/s. 302,201 r/w. 34 of IPC. It is further case of the prosecution that deceased Manjunath s/o Krishnappa of Zinklane Bhadravathi is said to have fallen in love with Varalakshmi, the sister of the accused No. 1 and was intending to marry her. Varalakshmi's marriage was already fixed with some other boy the accused-appellants apprehending that deceased manjunath might create some problem in the marriage of Varalakshmi, conspired to do away with the life of Manjunath; that on 1 -3-2002, the accused-appellants, with common intention, took deceased manjunath to the arrack shop of Shrikantegowda (PW. 13) and they made him (deceased) to drink arrack and thereafter, they took him (deceased-Manju) in Hero Puck vehicle bearing No. KA-18-6428 to Bilkikere channel of Bhadravathi around 10. 00 p. m. and tied his neck with the cable wire of a mixi tightly and caused asphyxia and thus committed murder of Manju and then thereafter, in order to conceal the evidence of murder, they tied the hands of deceased Manju with a rope and threw the dead body into Bhadra Left Bank Channel and thereby committed the offence punishable U/s. 302,201 r/w 34 of ipc.

(3.) THE prosecution, in support of its case, examined as many as eighteen witnesses and got marked 25 documents as Ex. P. 1 to P. 25 and eleven material objects (Mos. 1 to 11 ). On behalf of the accused appellants, except marking the portions of statement of PWs. 2 and 11, no evidence was lead in.