K N VIJAYAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS case has come before us in appeal and under Section 374, Criminal P. C. for confirmation of the capital sentence passed on the appellant Vijayan, son of Chandraseri Narayanan Vaidan of Mattancherry for the murder of a boy Swaminathan, aged about 14 who was a student of Form III in the T. D. High School, Mattancherry. Besides murder the appellant also stood charged with the commission of offences punishable under Sections 392 and 201, Indian Penal Code viz. , robbery and causing disappearance of the evidence of murder. The learned Sessions Judge of Anjikaimal who held the trial with the aid of four assessors found the accused guilty both of murder and robbery and passed the sentence of death in respect of the former offence. In view of the imposition of the death penalty no separate sentence was awarded with respect to robbery. As for the charge under Section 201, the learned Judge took the view that as the appellant was found guilty of murder the consideration of the question whether he was guilty of the offence of causing disappearance of the evidence of murder did not arise. Of the four assessors three of them opined that the appellant was guilty of all the three offences he stood charged with, while the fourth was of the view that at best a conviction for theft alone was warranted by the evidence.

(2.) THE occurrence forming the subject of the charge is alleged to have taken place in the afternoon of 1. 8. 1952. The appellant was then 18 years of age and at that time he was without employment. He was formerly a student of the T. D. High School and the deceased Swaminathan and himself were friends. After leaving the school, the appellant got himself apprenticed for some time to a tailor but he left that off a fortnight or so before the date of the occurrence. The prosecution case is that on 1. 8. 1952 the appellant met Swaminathan at about 10-30 A. M. and that they were practically together till about 2-30 P. M. when the appellant enticed Swaminathan to an unused latrine in the T. D. High School compound and there murdered him by hitting him on the back of his head with a heavy piece of concrete. Other injuries are said to have been inflicted on the deceased's forehead with a knife and the prosecution also charged the appellant with having helped himself with the ornaments Swaminathan was wearing at that time viz. , a gold (neck) chain, a gold ring and two earrings. It would appear the earrings were removed by cutting the lobes of the ears. According to the prosecution these incidents must have taken place round about 3 P. M. Their further case against the appellant is that after 8 P. M. on that day with a view to screen himself from punishment by concealing evidence of the commission of murder and robbery he had committed, the appellant dragged the dead body into a canal to the west of the latrine and there buried it deep in the mud of the canal and placed a big piece of granite over it.

(3.) THE 1st day of August, 1952 was a working day for the School and Swaminathan attended his class for the first period. His class teacher was on casual leave that day and when the first period was over himself and two companions of his, P. Ws. 13 and 14, skulked away from the class. While they were so out idling their time the appellant joined their company and all the four were together till noon. At noon they returned to their respective homes for meals. The evidence of Swaminathan's mother (P. W. 4) is to the effect that Swaminathan did not return to his house after he left it soon after his mid-day meal on 1. 8. 1952. His absence from the house was noticed in the evening when his tuition master went there to give him and the other children of the house tuition. Vigorous search was made for the missing boy that night and the next, day, but there was no trace of him until the morning of the 3rd of August when P. W. 5 by chance saw one human leg over the surface of the water in the canal opposite the T. D. High K. N. Vijayan vs. The State (01. 04. 1953 -KERHC) Page 3 of 16 School premises. On getting down into the canal he found that a piece of granite was placed over a dead body. When the granite was removed Swaminathan's body floated in the canal with the face downwards. Soon the relations of the boy appeared on the scene and P. W. 11, an uncle, forthwith gave information to the Mattancherry Town Police station. At the instance of the Sub-Inspector the Circle Inspector also came to the spot. They recovered the body, held the inquest and sent the body for post-mortem examination.