PHILIPS Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has challenged the legality and correctness of the conviction and sentence passed on him by the First Additional Sessions Judge, Bangalore, in Sessions Case No. 11 of 1978, convicting him for having committed the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to imprisonment for life.

(2.) The prosecution case is that, the deceased Muthu and the accused were, sometime earlier to the incident which took place at about 9.30 P. M. on 7-12-1977, friends. P. W. 15 Fathima is the wife of Muthu. As Muthu could not carry on in his profession as bar-tender he took up vending illicit liquor. He enlisted the assistance of the accused on payment basis. The accused started cheating him in the business. Muthu warned the accused on many occasions. It is also the case of the prosecution that sometime earlier to the incident, Muthu had caused injuries on the hands of the accused and the accused nurtured grievance against Muthu. When the accused did not correct himself, but continued to cheat Muthu in the business. Muthu asked the accused to give up assisting him. The accused was taking food in the house of Muthu and residing there. Muthu drove him out. The accused went and commenced working for Kanthamma (not examined). Muthu went and told Kanthamma not to entertain the accused as the accused was unreliable and so on. Kanthamma gave up employing the accused The illwill nurtured by the accused against Muthu came to head in view of this fact also.

(3.) By about 9.30 P. M. on 7-12-1977, Muthu, P. W. 4 Kainikaraj. P W. 5 Chittibabu. P. W. 6 Satish, P. W. 7 Vadivelu and others were playing cards in Aakra Khan compound, also known as Agha Khan compound, by the side of Miller Eoad in Bangalore. The accused went there and commenced to play. He lost money. He therefore gave up playing and went away. He returned after sometime. He had covered himself with bed-sheet M. O. 7 up to his neck. He stood behind Muthu who was dealing cards. He suddenly took out M. O. 1 the chopper and cut Muthu. All the persons ran away. P. Ws. 4, 6 and 7 went and stood near the hotel called Bombay Restaurant in that locality. Some time later the accused went there and told them that he had cut and finished Muthu and expressed that perhaps they also would be happy on learning that, and went away. At about 10.15 P. M. on the very day, he appeared in Cubbon Park police station where P. W, 17 M. D. Basannavar was the Sub-Inspector of Police. The accused was wearing banian M. O. 6, white pant M, O. 8 and had covered himself with the bed-sheet M. O. 7. He was having M. O. 1 the chopper is his hands. All these articles were stained with blood. He gave information to P. W. 17 regarding the occurrence and P. W. 17 reduced the same to writing. P. W. 17 registered case in crime No. 817 of 1977, issued F. I. R. and sent express reports. He secured panchas including P. W. 16 Narasaiah and in their presence sealed and seized M. Os. 1,6,7 and a constable to the scene of offence after instructing them that they should keep proper guard and watch over the spot. He went there in the course of the investigation. Before going, he attempted to contact P. W. 18 N, Krishnappa. Circle Inspector of Police, but he was informed that the Circle Inspector of Police had gone for investigation in some other case. At the spot, he found the head constable and the constable attending to their duties. He went to Dabuspet locality situated by the side of the Miller Road and recorded the statements of P. Ws. 5 to 7 and 8 Mangalakumar. P. W. 18 took up investigation on receiving the express reports, at about 7.00 A. M. on 8-12-1977. He held inquest proceedings over the dead body and arranged to send the dead body for autopsy to P. W. 2 Dr. B. C. Ghandregowda, who conducted post mortem examination between 11.00 A. M. and 1.00 P. M. and prepared his notes as per Ex. P. 1. During the course of his investigation P. W. 18 questioned the accused and the accused gave some information. Then the accused led P. W. 18 to the City Market viz., Krishnarajendra Market in Bangalore City. P. W. 18 collected panchas including P. W. 13 S. S. Udupa. The accused led them to a gujari shop said to have been owned by Mahaboob Shariff. The owner of the shop sent for the boy, aged about nine years. P, W. 10 Aman, Panchanama as per Ex. P. 6 was recorded on the accused pointing out P. W. 9 Syed Sab. on the sopt. P. W. ]8 recorded the statements of P. Ws. 9 and 10 and others, and thereafter he also recorded the statements of P. W. 5 and others including P. W. 15 Fathima, and got the accused remanded to judicial custody. By 12-12-1977 P. W. 18 found that the accused wanted to make a confession and as such gave a requisition to P. W. 1 C. H. Nanjappa. Metropolitan Magistrate (VI Court) Bangalore. P, W. 18 proceeded with the investigation by sending the seized articles etc. Even before that, the accused had taken P. W. 18 and panchas to a hut near about Miller Road and produced voters enumeration list as per Ex. P. 11 which P. W. 18 seized under panchanama Ex. P. 10. On 16-12-1977 P. W. 1 secured the presence of the accused and put preliminary questions to find out whether the accused was going to make a statement voluntarily. He recorded his proceedings as per Ex. P. 3. He then sent the accused to judicial custody, with directions that he should be produced on 17-12-1977. By about 12.00 noon on 17-12-1977 the accused was produced before P. W. 1 and P, W. 1 once again put the questions to the accused to find out whether the accused was still willing to make a statement and that too voluntarily. On finding that, P. W. 1 gave time to the accused till about 4.00 P. M. in the evening. Thereafter he sent for the accused in his chambers and took the precaution of sending away all police officials and officers and again put questions to the accused to find out whether he was voluntarily willing to make a confessional statement. On satisfying himself that the accused was voluntarily willing to make a statement, he proceeded to record his statement as per Ex. P. 4. It also contains the proceedings recorded by P. W. 1 on 17-12-1977. P. W. 18 completed the investigation and placed charge-sheet against the accused.