ACHUTHAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is aggrieved by the conviction and sentence imposed on him by the Sessions Court, Kollam, for offences under Sections 302 and 449 of the Indian Penal Code. The learned Sessions Judge sentenced the appellant to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and to undergo imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- under Section 449. The learned Sessions Judge held that the sentences shall run consecutively in case of commutation of sentence awarded under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The prosecution case is that on 19.3.2001 at 2 AM., the appellant murdered Babu Dharmanandan (hereinafter referred to as 'Babu'), who was sleeping in a shed in the farm belonging to his brother Dayanandan. Dayanandan is an Ayurvedic doctor. He owns a farm having an extent of about 20 Acres at Uliyanad. The farm is bounded by forest. Babu, the deceased, is the younger brother of Dayanandan. Babu was working abroad for quite some time and after his return to his native place, he indulged in agricultural activities in the farm belonging to his elder brother. There is a house in the farm and there is a shed attached to the house having no wall on three sides. There are two other sheds, one situated at a distance of about 400 metres on the north-eastern side of the house and the other is situated at a distance of about 125 metres on the northern side of the house. Workers employed in the farm used to reside in the sheds. Babu used to sleep on a wooden chest kept in the shed attached to the house.

(3.) On 18.3.2001 by about 10 PM., Babu and his workers Gopalan (PW1), Usha (PW2) and Kunju Pillai (PW3) went to sleep in the shed. Babu was sleeping on the wooden chest while the others were lying on the mat spread on the floor. The prosecution case is that by about 2 AM. on 19.3.2001, Usha watched somebody entering into the shed and moving towards the side where Babu was sleeping. That person was the accused. Usha saw the accused attacking Babu with M01 chopper. She cried aloud. Gopalan (PW1) and Kunju Pillai (PW3) woke up. By that time, the accused caused cut injuries on the neck of Babu. PWs 1 to 3 tried to catch hold of the accused, but he ran away. Though PWs 1 to 3 followed the accused, he escaped into the forest. The other workers sleeping in the other two sheds came to the scene of occurrence on hearing the hue and cry. Subhashini (PW6) was one among them.