KITTUCHAMI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole accused in S.C. No.275 of 2015 on the files of the Sessions Court, Palakkad who stands convicted and sentenced for the offences punishable under Ss. 376 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) challenges in this appeal, his conviction and sentence in the said case.

(2.) The victim was a lady aged about 50 years. Her family owns a vegetable garden. The victim and her family were residing in a building inside the vegetable garden itself. On the south-west of the vegetable garden, there existed a Mango Grove measuring approximately 22 acres, hereinafter referred to as "Mango Grove" and on the further south of the Mango Grove, there is a colony called "Chappakkad Colony", hereinafter referred to as "Colony". There is a shortcut way through the Mango Grove connecting the vegetable garden of the victim and the Colony. Even though the Mango Grove is protected by barbed wire fencing on all four sides, the victim, the members of her family and her workers used the shortcut way through the Mango Grove for access to the Colony and back. On 15/11/2012, by about 5 p.m., the victim proceeded to the Colony through the shortcut way inside the Mango Grove for sale of green chillies. After the sale, even though the victim proceeded to her home from the Colony by about 6 p.m., she did not reach home. As the victim did not reach home, both her son and husband proceeded to the Colony in search of her and as they did not find her there, they started searching inside the Mango Grove and while so, by about 8 p.m., they found the body of the victim inside the Mango Grove in a half naked state with injuries on her body. On the basis of the information furnished by the husband of the victim, a crime was registered by Kollengode Police on the same day itself and the then Circle Inspector of Police, Nenmara conducted the initial investigation. Later, the investigation was continued by the then Circle inspector of Police, Kollengode and concluded by his successor by filing the final report against the accused.

(3.) The accused is a person residing in the Colony and at times he used to work in the vegetable garden of the victim. The accusation in the case is that by about 6 p.m. on 15/11/2012, while the victim was returning home from the Colony, the accused followed her through the shortcut way inside the Mango Grove and at about 6.20 p.m., the accused beat her with a trunk of a tree secured by him from the Mango Grove and when the victim fell down on the ground, the accused dragged her a little away from the direction of the way and committed rape on her. It is also the accusation in the case that as the victim made a noise then, the accused strangulated her with the saree worn by her at the relevant time by forcefully using the same around her neck and beat her on her face and head with the said tree trunk, and thereby caused her death.