KRISHNAN CHETTY ALIAS APPUSWAMI Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused in S. C. 68 of 1956 on the file of the Sessions Judge, South Malabar, appeals against his conviction for murder and his sentence of imprisonment for life.

(2.) We might state at the very outset that the accused has throughout admitted the truth of the prosecution case. Even in his memorandum of appeal all that he states is that he was a victim to some sort of hallucination and had no criminal intention; and all that he prays for is that he might be let off with a lesser punishment.

(3.) The accused, the deceased, and PW 1 were among the numerous mendicants, or devotees as they call themselves, always to be found in and about the Guruvayur temple. They used to sleep by night in the verandah of a shop in the Kizhakkey Nada, PW 1 at one end, the deceased at the other, and the accused in the middle. The evidence of PW 1 shows that the accused was very much attached to a temple elephant named Radha. This elephant fell ill about a fort-night before the occurrence. The accused took this very much to heart and he used to weep and sometimes even refuse food out of sorrow.