VIJAYAN PILLAI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A common brawl in which the aggressors literally stamped out the life of the victim; albeit the death occurred after two days in the hospital. The charge framed against the four accused was that on the victim questioning an assault committed on CW2 and CW3, the four accused with the common intention of causing death assaulted the victim; A1 catching hold of the collar of the victim while A2 kicked him on the abdomen crying aloud to 'kill him' and when CW1 attempted to rescue the victim, A2 threatened him and A1 to A4 attacked the abdomen and chest of the victim and later carried him and threw him on the side of the road. CW10 who attempted to rescue him was also abused and threatened by the accused. For reason of the severe attack on the victim, 6 to 8 ribs of the deceased were broken and internal injuries caused on the intestines resulted in the death of the victim on 23.08.2011 at 10.45 p.m. in the Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thiruvananthapuram. Thereby the accused committed offences under Section 322, 325, 302 r/w Section 34 of the IPC.

(2.) The prosecution examined 31 witnesses and produced Exts.P1 to P48 including P37 to P40 series and marked MO1 to MO7. The defence marked D1 to D27 contradictions and omissions from FIS of PW1 and Section 161 Statement of PWs 7,8,11 & 12. Learned Senior Counsel Sri. Vijayabhanu appeared for A2, Sri.S. Rajeev for A1 and Sri.Vibhu for A3 and A4. Sri. S.U. Nazer Public Prosecutor appeared and argued for the State.

(3.) For the accused it was specifically pointed out that there were inconsistencies galore, in the evidence of the various witnesses arrayed before Court though they were said to be eye witnesses. In fact PW1's presence was not spoken of by many other witnesses and he too did not speak of certain others. The dying declaration made by the victim was never made to the Police or to the Doctors who examined him before his death. In fact the victim was first taken to the Taluk Hospital, then to the District Hospital and later to the MCH. The history as recorded by the Doctors are in direct conflict with the evidence that there was a dying declaration. The very genesis of the brawl is said to be the alleged assault on CW2 and CW3, the staff of the bus driven by the victim, who were not examined before Court. PW4 is a cooked up witness and nobody else has seen him in the place of occurrence. There is not even one credible witness examined by the prosecution. Further the delay in forwarding the FIRs to the Court raises a suspicion on its registration also. The FI statement thus is one concocted by the Police on political pressure.