SANTHOSH Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole accused in S.C. No.796 of 2017 on the files of the Additional Sessions Court-IV, Kollam has come up in this appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the said case.

(2.) The accusation in the case in essence is that the accused who is the husband of the victim lady was subjecting the victim lady to cruelty demanding more dowry, and on 17.12.2014, at about 2.30 pm, with the intention of committing the murder of the victim lady, the accused stabbed her with a knife at her left flank and also at her left hand while she was entering into the house. The offences alleged are the offences punishable under Sections 498A and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (the IPC)

(3.) On the accused pleading not guilty of the charges levelled against him, the prosecution examined 17 witnesses as PW1 to PW17 and proved through them 22 documents as Exts.P1 to P22. Among the witnesses examined on the side of the prosecution, PW1 is a relative of the victim lady, PW2 is the victim lady, PW8 is the doctor who examined the victim lady at the District Hospital, Kollam, PW10 is the Sub Inspector of Police attached to the Women Cell, Kollam, PW13 to PW15 are the police officers who have investigated the case and PW17 is the doctor who treated the victim lady at the Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. Among the documents, Ext.P1 is the First Information Statement proved by PW1, Ext.P3 is the wound certificate proved by PW8, Ext.P5 is the copy of the petition register at the Women Cell, Kollam proved by PW10, Exts.P9 and P10 are lists of documents proved by PW13, Ext.P13 is the scene mahazar proved by PW15, Ext.P17 is the recovery mahazar proved by PWP15 and Ext.P22 is the case sheet proved by PW17.