RAVINDRAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused in S.C.No.146 of 1997 was tried and convicted under S.302 IPC by the learned Sessions Judge, Thalassery. He was sentenced to imprisonment for life. The allegation against him before the Trial Court was that on the noon of 14-7-1996 he caused the death of his wife Thankamani by strangling her with a towel as he suspected her chastity. To prove the above allegation, the prosecution examined PWs. 1 to 19 and marked Exts.P1 to P11 as well as M.Os. 1 to 9.

(2.) The appellant, who hereinafter will be referred to as 'the accused' is the husband of the deceased. PWs 1, 2 and 4 are the elder brothers of the deceased. P.W.3 is the wife of P.W.2 and P.W.5 is the wife of P.W.4. P.W.11 is the husband of the niece of the accused. The accused and the deceased were residing at Edoor adjacent to the house of P.W.4. The accused suspected that the deceased was in illicit intimacy with P.W.11, the husband of his niece. On account of such suspicion he was picking up quarrels with the deceased and beating her and on one such occasion he even attempted to strangle her. The deceased escaped from the clutches of the accused by running to the house of P.W. 4 where she made a complaint about this to her brother. The deceased also told about this incident to her friend P.W.7 who found nail marks on the neck of the deceased. The elders in the locality mediated between the deceased and the accused. Two weeks prior to the date of incident the accused left Edoor with the deceased and took up his residence at Kondambra colony, a tribal settlement. PWs 1 and 2, the brothers of the deceased were already residing in the said colony. After they settled at Kondambra colony both the deceased and the accused took up employment under P.W.8 in his rubber plantation.The accused and the deceased normally used to leave their residence by about 7.30 a.m. and return home after taking lunch in the house of their employer, P.W.8.

(3.) On 14-7-1996 the deceased and the accused as usual left for their work at 7.30 a.m. and were seen by P.W.1. In the afternoon on the same day the deceased and the accused after completing their work took their food served by P.W.9, the son of P.W.8 and left together for their residence. When they left the accused was seen having a towel, M.O.9 tied around his head. They were also in possession of M.O.6 and M.O. 6(a) the knives which they used for tapping rubber. Thereafter the deceased was not seen alive by anyone.