MARTIN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Thirteen persons were convicted for the offence of murder. Such a mass scale conviction relates to the death of one Remanan who sustained a stab wound (which became fatal) and a lacerated wound. Twelve of them were tagged in with the aid of Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code and the remaining person was found to have inflicted the fatal wound. All the thirteen were sentenced to imprisonment for life. These appeals are in challenge of the said conviction and sentence.

(2.) At the outset, we are constrained to express our disapproval of the supercilious manner in which evidence was recorded by the trial court. Eye witnesses examined in court mentioned the names of assailants in their deposition, but Sessions Judge wrote down such names in the recorded deposition without indicating whether each name pertains to a particular accused arraigned in the trial court. We do not know whether those witnesses referred to the names by pointing out the accused in the dock. If they did so, learned Sessions Judge ought to have taken down in the record the rank allotted to the accused concerned. We may also observe that if a Public Prosecutor fails to elicit from witness whether the name mentioned is the name of one of the accused in court, it is the duty of the trial judge to ascertain that fact and indicate it in the record. It is enough that he writes the rank of the accused concerned without the name. We are at a terrible disadvantage in this case as we could not discern from the recorded deposition whether the name mentioned in the deposition refers to a particular accused in the case or to any witness or to somebody else. The difficulty the aggravated in this case since there are more than one person bearing the same name among the accused and witnesses. Naturally, defence tried to take advantage of this amorphous situation.

(3.) Synopsis of the prosecution case is this : Thirteen persons including first accused formed themselves into an unlawful assembly at about 8 p.m. no 13-6-1988 on the public road at Puzhavathu in Chenganassery with the common object of murdering the deceased. This was in retaliation for what the deceased and his henchmen did on the previous day by hurling abuses against first accused in front of his house. Members of the unlawful assembly were armed with lethal weapons and moved from one spot to another on the public road. First, P.W. 2 was attacked by inflicting a cut injury on his back with a sword-stick. This was followed by pelting stones at P.W. 3. As they moved northwards, they met the deceased Remanan. Accused 5 and 6 pointed at the deceased and said that it was this man who hurled abuses on the previous night and exerted 1st accused to finish him off. 1st accused then plunged the sword stick into his chest and 2nd accused dealt a blow on his head with a wooden reaper. P.W. 4 felt indignant and questioned the assailants about their acts. Then 3rd accused beat him on the cheek with a cricket bat. All the accused ran away from the place thereafter. Deceased later died.