SWAMINATHAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused 1 to 3 in Sessions Case No. 40 of 1984, on the file of the Sessions Judge, Thanjavur West, have preferred this Criminal Appeal against the judgment, dated 30-6-1986, convicting accused 1 to 3 for an offence under S. 302 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing each of them, thereunder, to undergo imprisonment for their lives and also convicting accused 2 and 3 for an offence under S. 307 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing each of them thereunder to undergo R.I. for three months and to pay a fine of Rs. 250/- in default, to undergo imprisonment for a further period of three months. Both the sentence awarded under S. 302 read with 34 IPC and the substantive sentence of imprisonment awarded under S. 307 read with 34, IPC, with regard to accused 2 and 3, were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The allegations of the prosecution against the accused were that on 5-6-1983, at 8-00 p.m., near the old Palakkarai at Kumbakonam, they along with one Dhanapal, in furtherance of their common intention, caused the death of one Jayaraman, by the accused 2 and 3 cutting him with aruvals and by the first accused stabbing him in his stomach with a sulikki, and thereby committed an offence punishable under S. 302 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and at the same time, place and in the course of the same transaction, accused 2 and 3 attempted to commit the murder of one Sekar by cutting him with aruvals and thereby committed an offence punishable under S. 307 read with S. 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

(3.) The case of the prosecution, as held out from the recorded oral and documentary evidence, in brief, is as follows :- The deceased Jayaraman is the sister's husband of P.W. 1 Sekar. They belong to Kallar community. The accused 1 to 3 and one Dhanapal belong to Padayachi community. All of them were living in Asur village, situate 2 Kms. away from Kumbakonam town. P.Ws. 2, 3, 5 and 8 were also residents of Asur village. In the said village, there were two temples, known as Pattari Amman temple and Mari Amman temple. Initially, the said temples were being maintained by the village panchayat and the panchayat was in charge of them. There were eight nattanmies, seven of whom belonged to padayachi community and one to Kallar community. The temples owned two tanks and up to the year 1975, the said nattanmaidhars themselves were appointing trustees and leasing out the tanks. After the year 1975, three persons belonging to kallar community became Trustees and, therefore, the aggrieved members of the padayachi community insisted the Commissioner of the H.R. and C.E. Board, Thanjavur, not to hand over the charge of the temples to the said Trustees, belonging to kallar community. Being unable to get a stay from there, the padayachi community members preferred an appeal before the Commissioner at Madras and there also their appeal was dismissed. Thereafter, they filed a petition before the High Court, Madras, and obtained a stay. Notwithstanding the stay granted, the petition was dismissed and it ended in favour of the members of the kallar community. Meanwhile, when the stay was in force, Rasu Padayachi and party filed a suit in the District Munsif's Court, Kumbakonam stating that the Trustees had no right to fish in the tanks belonging to the temples. But, that suit ended in favour of the Trustees and the appeal filed against the said judgment, before the High Court, was also dismissed. Thus, since the lifetime of the old Trustees came to an end, the deceased Jayaraman was appointed as a Trustee, by the H.R. and C.E. Board, in the year 1978. In spite of the protest made by the members of the padayachi community, the deceased leased out the tanks for fishing, for two years. In the year 1983, P.W. 1, the brother-in-law of the deceased, was appointed as the Trustee, by the H.R. and C.E. Department. But the members of padayachi community prevented Jayaraman not to hand over charge to P.W. 1. But ignoring their protest, the deceased handed over charge to P.W. 1. In the year 1983, when a festival was arranged for the temples, the members of the padayachi community demanded their right to dance 'Kali Attam' and in that attempt also they failed. P.W. 1 and the deceased Jayaraman led and conducted the festival which took place on 1-6-1983 and the members of padayachi community did not take part in that festival. Thus, there had been a bitter enmity between the members of padayachi community and kallar community.