SREELEKHA Vs. DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, CBCID, KANNUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Annexure A1 order passed by the Additional Sessions Court - II, Kasaragod (for short, 'the trial court') in S.C. No.488/2012 under Sec. 319 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.) is under challenge in this Crl.M.C.

(2.) One Jisha was stabbed to death at her house situated at Adukkamparambu in Madikai Panchayat at about 8.45 pm on 19/2/2012. The local Police registered an FIR and arrayed the maid servant of the house, one Mr. Tushar Sen Malik @ Madan Malik, a native of Odisha, as the sole accused. The local police initially conducted the investigation and filed the final report against the accused. The prosecution allegation is that the accused, who was employed by PW3 Chandran in his house to look after his aged father, planned to kill PW1 Sreelekha, but murdered the deceased Jisha on mistaken identity by stabbing her with a knife at 8.45 p.m. on 19/2/2012. Dissatisfied with the final report, the father of the deceased filed a Writ Petition before this Court as W.P.(C) No.9303/2013 seeking investigation by CBI. This Court, by its judgment dtd. 7/8/2013, directed the Crime Branch to take over the investigation and conduct further investigation. Accordingly, CBCID, Kannur Unit, took up the investigation and filed the final report, arriving at the same conclusion as the local police.

(3.) The accused appeared before the trial court. He pleaded not guilty. The trial of the case started on 12/7/2017. The prosecution examined 35 witnesses out of 77 witnesses cited; Exts.P1 to P31 were marked, and MOs 1 to 17 were identified. Thereafter, the trial court found that PWs 1 and 3 were also involved in the commission of the offence, and they were ordered to be arrayed as additional accused Nos.2 and 3 by invoking Sec. 319 of Cr.P.C. PW3 is the brother of the husband of the deceased and PW1 is the wife of PW3.