JUSTIN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed against judgment dated 21/8/2015 in SC No.240/2011 on the file of the Additional Sessions Court, Neyyattinkara. By the impugned judgment, accused was convicted u/s 302 I.P.C . and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000/- in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a term of one year.

(2.) Case of the prosecution is as follows:- The accused was employed as a part time sweeper in Kerala State Financial Enterprises, Neyyattinkara Branch where the deceased Asokan was also employed as a Higher Grade Peon. They were friends, but later the accused entertained enmity in his mind, when he suspected that the deceased was having an affair with a lady, who was working in a photostat shop downstairs the same building where the KSFE branch, Neyyattinkara was functioning and whom the accused wanted to marry. In the meanwhile, the accused was transferred to Balaramapuram branch of Kerala State Financial Enterprises. While so, the above lady whom the accused loved, started to avoid his calls. She also returned the sim card, some ornaments, photograph etc., presented by the accused and expressed her intention to wind up the love affair. The accused believed that it was due to the affair, the deceased Asokan had with the above lady that she started avoiding him. On account of such enmity, the accused decided to do away with the deceased. On 11/7/2007, he came in an Ambassador car with registration number KRV 7578, to the KSFE branch, Balaramapuram, affixed his signature in the attendance register to make it appear that he was on duty in that office, and by about 10 a.m of 11/7/2007, he drove to Neyyattinkara in the above car without informing any of the officers of KSFE, Balaramapuram and waited in the above car by the side of National Highway near to KSFE, Neyyattinkara Branch. By about 11.00 a.m., the deceased came out of KSFE branch, Neyyattinkara carrying an amount of Rs. 4,00,000/- intended to be deposited at Trivandrum Co-operative Bank, Neyyattinkara Branch. On the invitation of accused, deceased got into the above car and sat on the front seat. The vehicle was driven to a bye road from Pathamkallu to Kokkidi which runs amidst wetland (Ela) planted with tapioca cultivation on either side. The accused stopped the car, and went out pretending to be attending a phone call. Thereafter he came around the rear side of that car, opened the rear left door and put a ligature (plastic rope) around the neck of Asokan from behind, and tightened the same strangulating the deceased. The deceased was also smothered with a cloth kept in that car and thus, he caused death of Asokan at about 11.20 a.m. Thereafter, the accused dragged the body of the victim through the tapioca plantation on the eastern side of the road and disposed off the same there. The accused then returned to the KSFE, Balaramapuram Branch by about 12.30 noon in the same car. By about 1.00 p.m, the accused went to a hardware shop in the same car driven by him and purchased a spade from there. Thereafter, he again went back in that car to the spot where he murdered the victim, for the purpose of burying the dead body inside the tapioca plantation where he had abandoned it, a few hours ago. Seeing that people had gathered near the area, the accused left the place leaving the car. He also took an amount of Rs. 2,100/- from Rs. 4,00,000/- which the deceased had kept in a plastic cover inside the car. The accused then hired an autorickshaw and went to a shop from where he purchased pesticide and thereafter proceeded to Trivandrum in the same autorickshaw. On the way to Trivandrum, he consumed beer from a foreign liquor shop at Balaramapuram. By about 4 p.m on the same day, the accused reached the house of Mr.Felix and Mrs.Mary at Vazhuthacaud, who considered him as a family friend for the past several years, right from the time when the accused was working as a helper at CMI House, Vazhuthacaud. During the same night, the accused along with the family members of Felix and Mary, went to see a second show at Sreekumar Theatre, Thiruvananthapuram. The expenses for food and film tickets were expended by the accused himself. After second show, while coming back, the accused alighted from the autorickshaw at a place called Mettukada telling the others that he was going to CMI House. However, on the next morning, by about 6.20 a.m., he came to the house of Felix and Mary, climbed up the terrace and lied down there in a drunken stage. The son and daughter of Felix and Mary procured some curd from a nearby house and administered the same to the accused. Thereafter, the accused was brought down from the terrace portion of that house by Felix's son and he was laid inside a room, after changing his dress. In the meanwhile, a person from CMI House under the instructions of Police, had telephoned and enquired whether the accused had come to Felix's house. Within a short while, the Police came to that house and took the accused from there. On the way to Neyyattinkara, the Police had got the accused admitted at NIMS Hospital, Neyyattinkara, since he was found to be in a serious condition due to the intake of poison and excessive consumption of liquor. The accused remained in that hospital under police surveillance for about one week. On 19/7/2007, he was arrested from that hospital by the Circle Inspector of Police, Neyyattinkara and was remanded to judicial custody. On 20/9/2007, the investigation was handed over to the CBCID as per the directions of the Government. The Detective Inspector of CBCID filed report before the Magistrate Court for substituting Section 379 instead of Section 397 I.P.C., which was mentioned in the FIR. After the completion of the investigation, the Detective Inspector of Crime Branch CID, HHW-1, laid the charge-sheet before the Court.

(3.) The accused was charge-sheeted for offences under Sections 302 I.P.C. and 379 IPC . In order to prove the case, prosecution examined PW1 to PW52 and placed reliance on Exts.P1 to P66. Defence examined DW1 to DW3 and marked Exts.D1 to D3. MO1 to MO20 were the articles produced and identified. After trial, accused was found guilty and sentenced as stated above.