RAJACHANDRASEKHARAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is preferred against the judgment dtd. 8/1/2018 of the Special Court for SC/ST (POA) Act Cases, Kottarakkara, whereby, the appellant was convicted and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000.00 and in default of payment of fine to undergo imprisonment for three months under Sec. 326 of the Indian Penal Code [IPC] read with Sec. 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 [SC/ST (PoA) Act, 1989]. He was further convicted and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs.10,000.00 and in default of payment of fine, to undergo imprisonment for three months under Sec. 307 IPC read with Sec. 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (PoA) Act. He was also sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for one month and to pay a fine of Rs.500.00 and in default of payment of fine to undergo imprisonment for another seven days under Sec. 341 IPC read with Sec. 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST (PoA) Act. The court however found the appellant not guilty of the offence under Sec. 3(1)(s) of SC/ST (PoA) Act and he was acquitted of the same under Sec. 235(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure [Cr.P.C.].

(2.) The prosecution case was that the appellant, who belongs to the Hindu Viswakarma community assaulted his wife [de facto complainant], who belongs to the Hindu Kuruva community, owing to her having filed complaints against him alleging assaults on her, and on account of her family members questioning him about his conduct. It was alleged that on 5/4/2016 at about 3 p.m., the appellant, with the intention of insulting her by referring to her caste, as also with the intention of murdering her, forced the de facto complainant to sit on a plastic chair in the hall room of her house in Vettikkavala Grama Panchayat, abused her in filthy language and inflicted wounds on her right shoulder using a chopper [koduval]. When she cried out aloud, he again assaulted her with a chopper which, when evaded, fell on the left arm rest of the plastic chair on which she was sitting and as a result the chair broke. With a view to save her life, the de facto complainant then ran out of the house crying out aloud, consequent to which, the further attempts of the appellant to assault her were thwarted through the intervention of CW2, the father of the de facto complainant. The appellant thereafter chased the de facto complainant as she ran away from the house and when she reached in front of the property of one Omana, the appellant wrongfully restrained her by catching hold of her night dress and inflicted wounds on her head using the chopper. When the de facto complainant resisted the blows using her hands, she sustained injuries on her hands, back side of the body and also a fracture of her skull bone. It was the case of the Prosecution therefore that the appellant had committed the offences punishable under Ss. 341, 326 and 307 of the IPC read with Ss. 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (PoA) Act, 1989.

(3.) The investigation of the case commenced when the de facto complainant was undergoing treatment at the Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. CW20, the Additional Sub Inspector of Police, Kottatakkara Police Station recorded her F.I. Statement, and on the basis of that, CW21, the Sub Inspector of Police, Kottarakkara Police Station registered Crime No.827/2016 under Ss. 294A, 341, 326 and 307 IPC. Thereafter, CW22, Inspector of Police, Kottarakkara took over the investigation, prepared the scene mahazar, recorded the arrest of the appellant who had been handed over to the Police by CW4 and others, recorded the confession of the appellant and effected recovery of the weapon based on the said confession. He also filed a report adding Ss. 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(v) of SC/ST (PoA) Act. The investigation was thereafter continued and completed by CW23, the Dy.SP, Kottarakkara, who filed the final report before the court which took the case on file as S.C.No.39/2016 under Ss. 341, 326 and 307 IPC and Sec. 3(1)(s) and 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (PoA) Act. Charges were thereafter framed, read over and explained to the appellant, to which, he pleaded not guilty. In the trial that followed, PWs.1 to 21 were examined on the side of the Prosecution and Exts.P1 to P26 marked. MOs.1 to 7 were also identified.