KESAVAN GOPALAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CRIMINAL Appeal No. 99 and Referred Trial No. 7 arise from the judgment of the learned Sessions Judge of Mavelikara in Sessions Case No. 5 of 1953. In that case one Kesavan Gopalan (hereinafter referred to as the accused) stood charged with the commission of offences punishable under Sections 302 and 401 of the Indian Penal Code. The case was that on 8-10-1951 at about 10-30 p. m. the accused caused the death of one Sankaran Padmanabhan by cutting him on his neck with a tapper's knife and that he afterwards helped himself with a gold chain and a gold ring which Padmanabhan was wearing at that time and some money and an electric torch which were in Padmanabhan's possession. The trial was held with the aid of three assessors. Agreeing with their unanimous opinion the lower Court found the accused guilty of the offences he was charged with and sentenced him to death for committing murder and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year in respect of the charge of misappropriation. The accused has preferred Cri. Appeal No 99 against the conviction and the sentence and Referred Trial No. 7 is the reference under Section 374, Cri. P. C. , for confirmation of the death sentence.

(2.) THE prosecution case is set out correctly as follows in paragraph 2 of the lower Court's judgment : Sankaran Sankaran examined as P. W. 3 in the case was the contractor of the toddy shop No. 36 at Lakasseri Muri in Chengannoor. But the toddy shop was managed by his deceased son Padmanabhan ever since he took it on contract. The accused is the son of Sankaran Kesavan, a brother of P. W. 3. The deceased Padmanabhan daily used to go to the shop in the morning and return home by 9-30 p. m. or 10 p. m. His house is at Puthur about one and a half miles from the toddy shop. On 22nd Kanni 1127 corresponding to 8-10-1951 at about 10-30 p. m. while Sankaran Padmanabhan, as usual, was returning home from his shop, the accused waylaid him in the Perisseri-Futhentheruvu road on the southern side of the Charekathil stone bridge, fell upon him and hacked him to death by cutting and sawing his neck with a deadly weapon, a "theru" a broad-bladed sharp weapon used generally by tappers. The accused then appropriated Bs. 115 worth of currency notes found with Padmanabhan, a. gold chain worn by the deceased round his neck, a ring of gold from his finger, a torch light altogether worth about Rs. 256 and made good his escape from the spot. Early next morning at about 5-30 O'clock Sankaran Divakaran (P. W. 1) the younger brother of deceased Padmanabhan was deputed by his father to fetch some toddy from his shop for the purpose of giving the same to some workmen. While he was proceeding along the said village road, he saw his brother Padmanabhan lying dead by the side of the road with injuries on his body. He took fright, ran home and informed the inmates of the house who hurried to the spot and saw Padmanabhan lying dead with injuries. The information regarding the death of Padmanabhan was given by P. W. 1 to the Sub-Inspector of Police, Chengannur, who thereupon registered a case and started investigation along with the Circle Inspector of Police. As a result of their investigation the accused was arrested in the morning of 12-10-1951. The motive alleged for the occurrence was the grudge which the accused bore against the deceased Padmanabhan. The accused was a tapper in the employment of Padmanabhan for about 24 years ending with 3-1-1126. On that day the accused was dismissed from service, as he unnecessarily attacked a fellow tapper in the shop and created trouble thereat. Subsequently, the accused was for some time working in the toddy shop of Vasu Panicker, examined as P. W. 7, but was sent away from there also. Thereafter he got employment as a tapper in the toddy shop No. 18 at Irivallipra at Thiruvella belonging to Kochukunju Velayudhan, an uncle of the deceased. Through the intervention of the deceased Padmanabhan, the accused was turned away from his shop as well. Thus there was sufficient reason for the accused to be Inimical towards the deceased. To boot, the accused being then unemployed, again approached Padmanabhan and asked for re-employment in his shop as a tapper, but his request was turned down. Thus the accused who already bore a grudge against the deceased became enraged at his refusal and decided to put an end to his life. Further, there was some ill-feeling between the accused on the one side and Sankaran and Pad-manabhan on the other side relating to the re-transfer of a property belonging to the accused. The accused bore ill-will against the deceased on that account as well. After completing the investigation the police charge-sheeted the accused before the Stationary 2nd Class Magistrate at Chengannoor who after completing the enquiry committed the accused to Sessions as stated above. A charge was accordingly framed, read and explained to the accused. But he denied haying committed the offence. . . .

(3.) THAT Sankaran Padmanabhan, the accused's cousin, died as a result of the injuries he sustained at the hands of an assasin during the night between 8-10-1951 and 9-10-1951 is clearly borne out by the evidence on record. On 8-10-1951, as usual, he left his toddy shop for his home at about 9-30 p. m. , but he never arrived there. Early morning of the next day his dead body was seen by P. W. 1, his brother, along side the road through which he had to pass to reach his home from the shop. There were two severe wounds on the neck of the deceased and the medical evidnce is definite that he died as a result of those injuries. The post mortem certificate (Ex. M) and the evidence of P. W. 20, who conducted the autopsy, show that the death was on account of syncope due to severing of the spinal cord, and shock and haemorrhage caused by the injuries. There were in all three injuries of which one was an abrasion on the head and the other two were on the neck. Both these were incised wounds, the first one (9" x 2" x 1") was in front of the neck and the other (8"x2 1/2") on the back of the neck. The latter cut through the body of the vertibra, spinal cord, blood vessels, nerves, food tubes etc. When Sankaran Padmanabhan left the shop he had on his person two gold rings and a gold chain. He had also with him Rs. 115 representing the collections of the shop for two days and an electric torch among other things. When his dead body was seen the next morning one gold ring, the gold chain, the money and the torch were missing while an ovaltine tin, a brass spoon, a bunch of keys, his slippers etc. , were seen near the body. These latter articles, his employee in the shop has sworn to, were among the articles that were with him when he left the shop that night. From what has been said above it is only a reasonable inference to make that whoever murdered Padmanabhan also removed some of the valuable ornaments on his person and the money and the torch he was carrying with him.