V ABDUL AZEEZ Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a criminal revision petition filed against the convictions and sentences of the learned Sessions Judge of Chittoor division in C. A. No. 49 of 1950 confirming the convictions and modifying the sentences of the learned District Magistrate of Chittoor in C. C. No. 216 of 1950.

(2.) The established facts are: The accused are Muslims. They have been living near the house of a Muslim girl P. W. 1 who was under the lawful guardianship of her father P. W. 2. The girl was unmarried at the time of the occurrence and her age was 15 and was living with her father P. W. 2 and brother P. W. 3 in Mangasamudram, a suburb of Chittoor. On account of these accused being Muslims and neighbours they have been frequenting the house of P. W. 2 and have been on friendly terms with P. Ws. 1 to 3. On the evening of 13-7-1950 at about 5 p.m. accused 2 came to the girl P. W. 1 while her parents had gone to another village and gave her a chit of paper. On seeing P. W. 3 enter the house, p. W. 1 tore off the paper into bits and threw them away. Subsequently these bits have been collected and handed over to the Sub Inspector and have been pieced together and exhibited as P-l. Accused 2 then went away. Subsequently at about 7 p.m. both the accused went to P. W. 1 again taking advantage of the absence of P. W. 3 from the house, and gave her another bit of paper Ex. P-2 inviting her to go with them, P. W. 1 read the paper threw it down and accused 2 had taken it and it has been subsequently recovered from him by the Sub Inspector. These people. Have then gone to the village of Yadamarri, six miles away and halted there for the night. I may point out here that when the girl left the place with these accused she had gone with her clothes, jewellery, etc. On the next morning the girl and the two accused got into a bus and went to Paradarami which is 4 or 5 miles away. There they stayed in the house of accused 2's grand-mother. Then P. W. 1 and accused 1 stayed behind and accused 2 came back to Chittoor. In the meanwhile P. W. 3 who returned to the house at 2 a.m. on the night of this girl's departure from the house with the accused, finding her absent contacted his parents and all of them searched for her. Then on information from P. W. 4 who was returning from Gudiyattam to Chittoor that he saw P. W. 1 in the company of both the accused near Yadamarri. p. W. 2 gave a complaint at the police station. Accused 2 was arrested and on information given by him P. W. 7 a Muslim gentleman engaged a car and went to Paradarami and found p. W. 1 and accused 1 sitting in a mango tope and brought them to Chittoor. Both the accused, were charge- sheeted for an offence under Section 363, Penal Code.

(3.) The case for the accused persons was a complete denial of the prosecution story. They denied the papers Exs. P-1 and P-2, the elopement, their journeys and accused 1 and the girl being brought back by P. W. 7 from Paradarami. In addition accused 2 set up an alibi that on the night in question he was working in the Beedi factory and alleged enmity between himself and P. W. 4 whereas accused 1 stated that he could not give any reason why the P. Ws. should falsely depose against him.