GOVINDA REDDY Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two appeals are against the judgment dated the 7th November, 1956 of the Principal Sessions Judge, Bangalore Division, in Bangalore Sessions Case No. 29 of 1956 convicting and sen tencing all the three appellants Govinda Reddy, Krishna and Muniswamy (Accused Nos. 3, 1 and 2 respectively in the trial Court) of the following, offences :-

(2.) The material facts are these Belur Srinivasa Iyengar, a rich Advocate of this Court was-residing with the members of his family in a building known as "Ranga Vilas" situated in the heart of Gandhi Nagar Extension in Bangalore City. He had given up his practice on account of his old age and was leading a retired life. He was getting an income of Rs. 1,500 per mensem as rent from the shops and other buildings situated in Gandhi Nagar. The, members of the family, particularly the womenfolk had got a large number of articles of jewellery prepared for their personal use on occasions. Many of the valuable jewels had been deposited in the two iron safes and other receptacles kept in the store-room or the treasury room of the house. Belur Srinivasa Iyengar, his second wife Vengadamma his daughters Rangalakshmi, Ratna and Prasaima his sons Lava and Kusha and his-mother-in-law Singamma were all the persons of the family living in "Ranga Vilas" in June 1956. Belur Srinivasa Iyengar had a son by name Muthanna by his deceased first wife. He was insane and had therefore been kept in a room constructed for him in the compound and was not residing in the bungalow with the other members of the family. A servant by name Rama-lingam had been engaged by Belur Srinivasa Iyengar and he was sleeping in the verandah of the house during nights to keep watch. On the night of 5th June, 1956 all the members of the family took their food as usual and retired to bed at about 10 P.M, Belur Srinivasa Iyengar had sustained a fracture due to a tall some days prior to 5th June, 1956 and was confined to bed and therefore he was served with food on his bed on the night of 5th June, 1956. He was sleeping in a room just adjoining the hall by the side of the Verandah out a cot. Vengadamma, her sons Lava and Kusha, her daughter Rangalakshmi and her mother Singamma were sleeping in a room adjoining the bed room of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar on three cots which had been kept close to each other. -The door between the hall and the bed room of Vengadamma had been kept open. Rathna and Prasanna, other two daughters of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar were sleeping in a room in the 'Angala' near the kitchen block of the house. Ratna was lying on a cot and Prasanna was lying on a bed spread over on the floor in that room. The doors between the hind portion of the house and the hall and the verandah had been kept open. Ramalingam, the watchman, was sleeping on the western side of the verandah of the house. Vengadamma had invited Yellamma, wife of Ramalingam, to attend to some work early on the next morning in her house. Accordingly Yellamma went to the house of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar early on the morning of 6th June, 1956 with Ammakannamma. They reached "Ranga Vilas" at about 6 A.M. on 6th June, 1956 and found that the front gate of the house had been closed but the other gate was a bit ajar. They entered the compound through that gate. Yellamma went into the verandah of the house and found that the main door of the house was open and none of the inmates of the house were moving about. She then proceeded to the place where Ramalingam, her husband, used to sleep to find out what he was doing. She found that her husband Ramalingam was lying dead in a pool of blood with bleeding injuries on his face, neck and head. She cried out for help. Ammakannamma, who was collecting some fruits in the garden ran to the place on hearing the cries of her sister-in-law Yellamma. She found that her brother Ramalingam had been murdered and was lying dead. Both the ladies then began to weep. Ratna who was sleeping in the room adjoining the 'Angala' near the kitchen portion of the house heard the wails and cries of the women in the verandah of the house and woke up and came out to see what the matter was. On coming out of the room she found that the front door of the house had been kept open and one of the bars of the window on the left side of the verandah had been wrenched and had come out of the socket. She rushed to the verandah and found Ramalingam lying dead in a pool of blood and that Yellamma and her sister-in-law Ammakannamma were weeping. Having observed this ghastly scene she rushed to the bed-room of her mother Vengadamma to inform her about the incident. She found that her mother Vengadamma, her grandmother Singamma and her twin brothers Lava and Kusha were lying dead in their beds in pools of blood and with a number of injuries on their heads and necks. She found Rangalakshmi, her sister, sitting leaning against the wall close to the entrance to the store-room. She had a number of bleeding injuries on her person and was unconscious. Ratna then rushed to the bed-room of her father Belur Srinivasa Iyengar to inform him about the murders of the several persons of the house and found that Belur Srinivasa Iyengar was also lying in his bed on a pool of blood with a number of injuries on his head, face and neck. He was not dead but was unconscious. Ratna then ran to the house of one Nagaraj, who was residing in one of the outhouses belonging to Belur Srinivasa Iyengar and informed him that her father, mother, grand-mother and brothers had all been murdered and requested him to come to the house. Srinivasa and Radhakrishna, two other tenants of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar who heard the news while Ratna was narrating it to Nagaraj followed them from behind. Nagaraj went into "Ranga Vilas" through the front varendah and found Ramalingam lying dead on a mat with a number of injuries on his person. He then went into the bed-room of Vengadamma and found Vengadamma her mother Singamma and her two sons Lava and Kusha were lying in a pool of blood on the three cots kept close to each other. Rangalakshmi was sitting leaning against the wall just in front of the doorway which leads to the store-room. Nagaraj tried to call out Rangalakshmi but there was no response. Ratna then led Nagaraj to the bed-room of her father Belur Srinivasa Iyengar and showed him that her father was lying in an unconscious state and had a number of bleeding injuries on his person. When Nagaraj and his friends Shrinivasa and Radhakrishna were in the bed-room of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar observing his condition, Ratna went into the store-room and found that the iron safes, almirah and other trunks in which they had kept their valuable jewellery and cash had all been ransacked and the boxes were lying with clothings and silver vessels scattered all round them in the room. Ratna then cried out to Nagaraj and others that the house had been burgled and all the valuable jewellery had been takes away by some persons. Ratna began to cry standing in front of the store-room. Prasanna, the other sister of Ratna who was sleeping in the room adjoining the 'Angala' heard the cries of her sister and woke up and came to the place to ascertain why she was weeping. As she entered the bed-room of her mother, she found ail the four persons that were sleeping on the beds lying dead in pools of blood and Rangalakshmi sitting leaning against the wall in front of the door leading to the store-room. Prasanna then rushed to the bed-room of her father and found that he was lying in an unconscious state with bleeding injuries. Nagaraj requested his friends Srinivasa and Radhakrishna to stay on in the house with the two girls and proceeded to the Taj Mahal Hotel, which is nearby and sent telephone message to the Control Station of the Central Police about the incident. He informed the Sub-Inspector of Police, Srikanta Reddy, who was in charge of the Control Station that 4 or 5 persons had been murdered in "Ranga Vilas" -- the residence of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar and requested the Police Officer to come to the place at once. He also telephoned for the Ambulance Van to remove Belur Srinivasa Iyengar and Rangalakshmi who were lying in an unconscious state. Sub-Inspector Srikanta Reddy, who received the telephone message from Nagaraj" at about 6-30 A.M. conveyed the information to Sri Sivacharan Singh, Jurisdictional Inspector and proceeded to the residence of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar with some reserve police constables in a police van. He posted the police constables round about the compound with a direction that they should not allow any one to enter into the premises. He entered into the bungalow and found Nagaraj, Srinivasa and Radhakrishna standing in the verandah and Ratna and Prasanna standing weeping in the hall of the house. As he entered the verandah he found Yellamma and Ammakannamma crying on the western verandah near the dead body of Ramalingam. Nagaraj and his friends led Srikanta Reddy into the house through the hall and showed him the condition of the house. Srikanta Reddy observed a crow-bar (M.O. 4) leaning against the wall in the bed-room of Vengadamma and there were blood stains on it. He also found a crow-bar (M.O. 1), an iron rod (M.O. 2) and a bread knife (M.O. 5) on the bed of Vengadamma. The crow-bars and the iron rod were bloodstained. Srikanta Reddy observed that the electric light in the store-room or the treasury room was burning and that the doors of the iron safes and the almirahs were all open. Several empty jewellery boxes and clothes pulled out from the boxes were all found scattered on the floor. Sivacharan Singh, the Inspector of Police 'C' Division, who received the message from Srikanta Reddy came to "Ranga Vilas" at about 7 A.M. in a van along with some police officers, who were with him on their way to attend a parade. By then the Ambulance Van also came to the place. Sivacharan Singh removed Belur Srinivasa Iyengar and Rangalakshmi who were injured and who were in an unconscious condition in the Ambulance Van to the Victoria Hospital for proper treatment. He then recorded the statement of Nagaraj and registered a case in Crime No. 93 of 1958 of 'Ooparpet' Police Station and submitted the first information report to the authorities. He had by then conveyed the information through telephone to Sri Revanna, District Superintendent of Police, Bangalore North. The District Superintendent of police and the Deputy Inspector-General of Police came to the place some time later. The Inspector of Police delivered a copy of the first information report to Sri Revanna, District Superintendent of Police. The Inspector of Police collected the panchayetdars for the purpose of conducting the preliminary investigation over the dead bodies under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. He summoned the Finger Print Experts and the Photographer of the Police Department to the place to examine the several articles and the places to find out whether there were any foot or finger impressions of any one of them which were identifiable and to take photographs if necessary. Accordingly photographer Thimmiah and Finger Print Expert Prema attached to the Scientific Labo ratory of the Police Department came to the place in a Van along with some others. Thimmiah, the photographer, took some photographs. The Finger Print Expert examined several impressions on several articles that were lying scattered in the rooms including the impressions found on the cots, crowbars, and on the switch in the store-room. Many of those impressions were either smudged or overlapping or partial and were not capable of identification. He directed the photographer to take some photographs of some of those impressions to examine them in the laboratory whether they were capable of identification. On examining the several silver articles that were lying scattered in the storeroom, the Expert found that there were some marks of fingers on 19 of those articles. He showed them to the panchayetdars and with the permission of the Inspector of Police Sivacharan Singh, he took possession of those articles for the purpose of examining them scientifically in the laboratory. The photographer and the Finger Print Expert left the place at about 10 A.M. after examining all the necessary places and materials and taking necessary photographs with the 19 silver articles. Then Sivacharan Singh, the Inspector of Police, directed Ratna to examine the articles of jewellary and to furnish him a list of the articles that had been stolen from the house. Ratna went into the store-room and after examining the several receptacles gave out a list of articles which according to her had been stolen from the house. The Inspector of Police got it reduced into writing and obtained the signature of Ratna to it. He despatched it at once to the Magistrate with a request to file the same along with the first information report already submitted by him. The Police Officers and other panchayetdars observed the dog lying in a quadrangle in a dazed condition and suspected that it had been poisoned and therefore, summoned the Veterinary Doctor to the place to examine the dog. The Veterinary Doctor who came to the place found the dog had been doped and for the purpose of examining took the same to the Hospital. The Inspector of Police Sivacharan Singh commenced proceedings under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure over the dead bodies of the several persons that were lying dead -- Ramalingam, Vengadamma, Singamma, Lava and Kusha in the presence of the panchayetdars. The panchayetdars observed the condition of the bar which had been wrenched in the window adjoining the verandah through which the culprits had obviously gained entrance and to ascertain whether the space in between the bars in that condition admitted entry of a person, directed the Daffedar Dyaviah to pass through the opening. Daffedar Dyaviah easily passed through it. The panchayetdars and the Inspector of Police found a hammer kept on the chair in the hall and half portions of cinema tickets of "Himalaya Talkies" lying by the side of the chair. The hammer, crow-bar and the half portions of the cinema tickets and the bloodstained clothes were all seized during the course of the investigation in the presence of the panchayetdars. The injuries on the several dead persons, the position and the condition of the dead bodies were all noted in the several inquest reports prepared in the presence of the panchayetdars. The Inspector of Police also seized the keys of the iron safe and the wooden almirah which were in the respective key holes, 24 empty jewellery boxes and other articles that were lying scattered and which were necessary for the purpose of investigation. The bodies of Vengadamma, Lava, Kasha, Singamma and Ramalingam were sent to the Victoria Hospital with the police officers for the purpose of post-mortem examination. Dr. Narasimha Setty conducted the postmortem examination over the dead bodies of Lava, Kusha and Ramalingam. Dr. Devanniah conducted the post-mortem examination over the dead bodies of Singamma and Vengadamma. At the request of the Inspector of Police the two Doctors cut the finger tips of the deceased persons and sent them to the Police for the purpose of obtaining their impressions for the purpose of comparison with the latent impressions, if, any, that may be deciphered by the Experts. The Inspector of Police completed the preliminary investigation. Rangalakshmi who was taken to the Victoria Hospital was examined by Dr. Srinivas and was admitted as an in-patient in the Victoria Hospital.

(3.) Belur Srinivasa Iyengar was also admitted into the Victoria Hospital. In spite of the best medical aid given to him, Belur Srinivasa Iyengar died at about 6-30 P.M. on the same day in the Hospital. Sri Revanna, District Superintendent of Police, Bangalore North, who had jurisdiction over Bangalore City took up the further investigation of the case from the Inspector of Police Sivacharan Singh at about 4 A.M. on 7th June, 1956. The District Superintendent of Police directed Ranga Rao (P.I.) to conduct the preliminary investigation under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure over the dead body of Belur Srinivasa Iyengar in the Victoria Hospital. Sri Revanna, District Superintendent of Police, examined some witnesses on the 7th and 8th June, 1956. Rangalakshmi was unconscious and her condition was precarious. Till about the midnight of 8th June, 1956 the District Superintendent of Police was not able to get any clue about the culprits.