STATE OF KARNATAKA Vs. KAMALAKSHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Kamalaksha,, aged about 25 years, of Yeyyadi village of Mangalore Taluk, was charged with having committed the murder of one Mohan, husband of one Sundari(.PW.5) at about 10-30 p.m. on 8-10-1976 in front of his house. The Sessions Judge, Dakshina Kannada, Mangalore, acquitted the accused of the charge of murder in Sessions Case No.47 of 1976. Aggrieved by this decision, the State has preferred this appeal.

(2.) Deceased Mohan everyday was going to the hotel of his mother situate at Gurupura village which is at a distance of about 8 miles from Yeyyadi village and used to return back to his house by about 8 p.m. Sundari, wife of Mohan was working in a factory at Mangalore. On one side of the house of Mohan, there was the hotel of PW.13 Pundalika Prabhu where the accused, who was a nephew of the said Pundalika Prabhu, was working. On the other side of the house of Mohan, there was the house of Srinivasa Prabhu, PW.9 who is the brother of PW.13 Pundalika Prabhu. PW.13 Pundalika Prabhu, as mentioned earlier, is the paternal uncle of the accused. On one or two occasions, Mohan saw the accused coming to his house in his absence, apparently for the purpose of fetching her coffee from his hotel and talking to Sundari. The visits of the accused to the house were suspected by Mohan and he was entertaining a suspicion that the accused had some amorous relationship with his wife Sundari. Having entertained this suspicion, Mohan started abusing his wife as well as the accused now and then.

(3.) On 8-10-1976, as usual, Mohan came to his house at about 8 p.m. He abused his wife and thereafter came out of his house and went on abusing the accused who was in the hotel of PW.13 till about 10-30 p.m. The prosecution case was that the accused came near Mohan armed with a knife, grappled with the deceased and inflicted a number of injuries on Mohan. PW.5 Sundari was inside the house. On hearing the sound, she came out of the house and saw the accused stabbing her husband Mohan. On seeing this, she raised a cry and on hearing her cries, Sanjiva Rao PW.6, Srinivasa Prabhu PW.9, Tukaram PW.10, Pundalika Prabhu PW.13 and Ratna PW.14, who are neighbours came running to the spot. They saw the accused standing near the place of incident. PW.6 Sanjiva Rao secured a tempo in which the injured Mohan was transported to the hospital along with Sundari. On the way Mohan died. PW.2 Dr.M.Seetharama Maria, examined Mohan and pronounced him dead. He sent the information to the police station at Pondeswar. B.M. Uthaiah PW.15, Sub-Inspector of Police, on receipt of the information, rushed to the hospital where he recorded the statement of Sundari as per Ext.P5. He registered a case in Crime No. 138/76 under Sec.302, IPC and sent FIR to the Court and express reports to his superiors. Thereafter PW.16 K. M. Belliappa, Circle Inspector of Police, took up further investigation in this case. He arrested the accused on the same night and also seized his underwear MO.3 which was stained with blood. After completing the investigation, he placed a charge-sheet alleging that the accused had committed the murder of Mohan.