SHIVABASAPPA RAYAPPA CHANNALLI Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against the conviction of the present appellant in Sessions Case No. 58 of 1956 on the file of the Sessions Judge, Dharwar. The facts of the case, briefly stated, are as follows:

(2.) The present appellant along with two other persons who were accused Nos. 2 and 3 in the said Sessions Case, had been charged for an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, or in the alternative, for an offence punishable under Section 201 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The case of the prosecution was that between the 7th and 8th of September 1956, these three accused persons had intentionally caused the death of one Sangappa Hanamappa Haglad of Halligudi village while the said Sangappa was proceeding on his bicycle from Venkatapur to Halligudi, and that thereafter all the accused persons removed the dead body of Sangappa and burnt it in a hay stack with the intention to cause disappearance of the evidence of the commission of the murder. There were no eye-witnesses to the commission of the alleged offence. The evidence and circumstances on which the prosecution case rested were, briefly, as follows: There was ill-will between the deceased Sangappa and A-1 (the present appellant) and A-1's father. At the instance of A-1's father proceedings had been initiated against Sangappa, under Section 107 of the Cr. P. C.; in those proceedings 6-9-1956 had been fixed by the Executive Magistrate at Mundargi as the date for passing final orders. Therefore, Sangappa had been to Mundargi on his bicycle, from the village of Halligudi. The final orders were not passed on that day and the passing of final orders was postponed to another date Sangappa and P.W. 2 Neelappa both left Mundargi and spent the night at Hatti. On the next morning i.e., on 7-9-1956 they started for Halligudi and on the way they halted at Venkatapur and ad their lunch in the house of Laxmawwa P. W. 3. Thereafter, P.W. 2 left Laxmawwa's house first and proceeded to Halligudi. Sangappa left Laxamawwa's house about an hour or so afterwards, but he never reached Halligudi and has not been heard of since then. According to the evidence of P.W. 2, on his way from Venkatapur to Halligudi, he saw the three accused persons sitting together near a tank known as "Bhavikatti Tank" which is about 2 miles from Venkatapur, and at that time A-1 had an axe in his hand and the accused persons bad also a bullock-cart with them, which belonged to A-1's father. At about the time of the mid-night of 7-9-1956, P. W. 8 who had got tip to answer calls of nature saw a big blaze of fire towards Hallikere village. On the morning of 8-9-56 P. W. 8 went to his uncle's land S. No. 202 of Halikeri for ploughing and found that the hay-stack of his uncle had been burnt. When he went there he also saw a half-burnt human body and a half-burnt bicycle in that stack. Thereafter he went and informed the Police Patil P.W. 9, who made a report as per Exhibit 17 and sent the same to the Police Outpost at Dambal which was about 10 miles from Hallikeri. The information reached the Police Sub-Inspector P. W. 15, at about 9 P.M. on 8-9-36. He registered a case and proceeded to Hallikeri via Halligudi. He reached Halligudi at 5 A.M. on the next day, and he informed the villagers at Halligudi that a half-burnt human body and a bicyle were found near Hallikeri. P.W. 1 the brother of Sangappa came and informed him that Sangappa who had left his house on the 6th had not returned. Thereafter P.W. 15 took P.W. 1 and 2 with him to Hallikeri where, P.W. 1 identified the bicycle as that of his brother and the dead body as that of his brother Sangappa, He then gave the complaint Exhibit 7. PAV. 15 took A-1 into his custody on the night of the 9th alone, though the for mal arrest of A-1 took place on the 10th. On 11-9-1956 the Police Patil of Halligudi produced a bullock-cart belonging to A-1 and it was found that there were some bloodstains on thy inner side of the right wheel; Exhibit 3J is the panchanama pertaining to the attachment of this cart. On the 13th of September, 1956. A-1 led the panchas to a place (which was about 2 miles from Venkatapur) near the road between Venkatapur and Halligudi and pointed out a spot at which some bloodstained earth and human hair was attached by the police, and then he took the panchas to his house and produced an axe-head, which was smeared with ashes, from a cup-board in his house; then he took them to a field known as "Yeri-Hola" which was about a mile to the east of Halligudi village and pointed out a spot from which the police officers took out some lumps of burnt millet seeds and a small quantity of burnt ashes. Exhibit 30 is the panchanama which pertains to these transactions. On the night of 13th September, A-1 was produced before the Mahalkari of Mundargi (P.W. 13) and his confession as per Exhibit 28 was partly recorded that night. A-1 was again produced on 14-9-56 before P.W. 13 and the rest of A-1's confession was recorded on 14-9-56. In the course of his examination by the learned Sessions Judge, A-1 stated that the confession made by him was neither true nor voluntary and that he had made that statement under the pressure of the police. The learned Sessions Judge took the view that the confession was voluntary and true and he accepted the prosecution evidence in so tar as this accused was concerned. Giving the benefit of doubt to accused 2 and 3 he acquitted them and convicted the present appellant for offences under Sections 302 and 201 of the I. P. C. and sentenced him to imprisonment for life.

(3.) The main contentions which have been urged by the learned counsel for the appellant are the following :