RAJAMMAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) While the first accused Rajammal and the third accused Murugesan in S.C. No. 2 of 1986 on the file of the District Judge, Chengalapattu are the appellants in C.A. 729 of 1985, the Public Prosecutor has preferred C.A. No. 800 of 1989 to set aside the order of acquittal of second accused Balasubramaniam and fourth accused Asokan and convict them for the offences with which they were charged. Crl. r.C. No. 246 of 1987 is by P.W. 1 Panneer Selvam against the judgment of the trial Court acquitting the accused 2 and 4.

(2.) Fourth accused Asokan is the husband of deceased Uma Porkodi. Their marriage took place on 24-3-1985. Third accused Murugesan and first accused Rajammal are the parents of the fourth accused Asokan. Second accused Balasubramaniam is the younger brother of the fourth accused. They were charged before the trial Court under four heads. The first charge against accused 1 to 3 under S. 302 read with S. 34, I.P.C. was that on 18-6-1986 at about 10.00 a.m. in furtherance of their common intention they committed the murder of Uma Porkodi by manual strangulation. The second charge against the accused 1 and 3 under S. 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 was that on 18-6-1985 in the course of the same transaction from the date of marriage proposal they demanded directly or indirectly from P.W. 1 Panneer Selvam and P.W. 7 Dharmar, the guardians of the bride, 50 sovereigns of jewels and cash of Rs. 10,000/- as Dowry at the time of marriage as consideration for the same which was partially complied with. The third charge against the accused 1 to 4 under S. 498(A), I.P.C. was that in the course of the same transaction on or about 18-6-1985 they subjected the deceased Uma Porkodi to cruelty and harassment by making unlawful demands of properties from her guardians. The fourth charge against the accused 1 to 3 under S. 201, I.P.C. was that at the same time and place and in the course of the same transaction knowing that murder of Uma Porkodi had been committed, they caused the evidence of the said offence to disappear by attempting to set up the case of suicide by Uma Porkodi with the intention of screening themselves from legal punishment.

(3.) The case of the prosecution as disclosed from the evidence on record is as under :- The family of the accused is put up in the ground floor of No. 40/8, Vasantha Nagar, Tiruvottiyur. P.W. 4 Subramaniam and his wife P.W. 3 Saroja are residing in the upstairs of the same house. Both the third accused Murugesan and his son fourth accused Asokan are employed in Ashok Leyland near Ennore. P.W. 8 Mani who is a co-worker is a distant relative of P.W. 1 Panneer Selvam. The said Panneer Selvam is the proprietor of Rohini Hotel in T. Nagar. P.W. 7 Dharmar is a first cousin of P.W. 1 Panneer Selvam. Deceased Uma Porkodi is the brother's daughter of P.W. 7 Dharmar. The father of the deceased is a deaf and dumb person. P.W. 12 Ambujammal is the mother of Porkodi. In the beginning of 1985 Uma Porkodi was studying in the twelfth standard in Radhapuram in Tirunelveli District. In February 1985 P.W. 7 Dharmar brought his niece to Madras to arrange for her marriage. He came to know about the fourth accused Asokan from P.W. 1 Panneer Selvam and negotiations for marriage took place through P.W. 8 Mani. P.W. 8 Mani brought third accused Murugesan and first accused Rajammal to the house of P.W. 1 Panneer Selvam in the first week of March 1985. The parent of the fourth accused Asokan made a demand of 50 sovereigns of jewels and Rs. 10,000/- in cash besides silver, eversilver and brass vessels as dowry. After some bargain they agreed to receive 25 sovereigns and Rs. 10,000/- cash. P.W. 12 Ambujammal handed over to P.W. 7 Dharmar 15 sovereigns of jewels and Rs. 15,000/- cash for the purpose of making jewels and purchasing articles, and on 24-3-1985 marriage between Porkodi and fourth accused Asokan took place. Ex.P. 6 is the marriage invitation. As undertaken 25 sovereigns worth of jewels and Rs. 10,000/- in cash were paid at the time of marriage. P.W. 7 Dharmar and his brother Ganesan met the marriage expenses.