VIJAYALAKSHMI Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant Vijayalakshmi was tried in S.C. No. 92 of 1985 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge, North Arcot at Vellore, under four heads of charges. The first two charges were framed under section 302, Indian Penal Code, alleging that she had caused the death of her two daughters Kalpana aged 9 and Gayathri aged 4 years by throwing them inside a well, consequent to which they drowned and died due to asphyxia. The appellant is stated to have dropped both the children inside the well at or about 2 p.m. on 6.5.1985 at Chengam Thukkapettai village. The well in which the children were thrown belonged to Asokan, not examined. The appellant was also charged under section 307, Indian Penal Code for having attempted to cause the death of her son Karthikeya Sivasankaran (P.W. 2) aged about 6 years, by throwing him similarly inside the well. P.W. 2 managed to escape. The appellant was further charged under section 309, Indian Penal Code for having attempted to commit suicide by jumping inside the well after throwing her children inside it, with a view to and her life.

(2.) Learned Sessions Judge after elaborate trial, found the appellant guilty of all charges, convicted and sentenced her to undergo life imprisonment on two counts of murder; 3 years rigorous imprisonment for attempt to murder and one year simple imprisonment under section 309, Indian Penal Code. The substantive sentences of imprisonment were directed to run concurrently.

(3.) For the disposal of this appeal, the prosecution case will have to be stated in brief, Vijayalakshmi (appellant) is the wife of P.W. 8 Ravi Chandran. The spouses had four children born of their wedlook. P.W. 7 Suresh Kumar aged about 13 years and P.W. 2 Karthikeya Sivasankaran are the sons, while deceased Kalpana and deceased Gayatri were the female children. P.W. 8 was residing along with his wife and children at Chengam Malpalayam. He owned no property and the only source of living was the daily wages he earned as a coolie in a hotel. On some days, he would earn Rs. 10/- per day and on other days approximately Rs. 7/-. Due to dire poverty the whole family was constrained to starve most of the time. Due to object poverty leading to unfortunate starvation of the young children, there used to be frequent quarrels between the spouses. In this back-ground on 5.5.1985 during afternoon the appellant beat her son P.W. 7, since he had lost the house keys. On the same evening the appellant and the other children went over to witness a cinema. P. W. 7 refused to join. On return from the picture house, the appellant against chastised P.W. 7, which was not relished by P.W. 8. P.W. 8 objected to the manner in which the appellant was threating P.W. 7. Difference of opinion between these spouses, resulted in a wordy altercation. Pricked by the words hurled at her, the appellant left the house on the vary night. P.W. 8 fed his children and slept off. On the next morning the appellant returned to her house. P.W. 8 scolded her, that it was unfair to stay outside the house and that too for the whole night. So saying he left for his workspot. In the after-noon on 6.5.1985 P.W. 7 returned home and went back a lime later to the bus stand to sell lottery tickets. At that time, the appellant and her three children were in the house. After P.W. 7 left the house, appellant took both the deceased and P.W. 2 in the guise of taking them to the house of flower vendor Chellam. However, she took all the three of them to the Well situated land of Ashokan (not examined) and threw all of them inside it before she herself jumped inside. Both the deceased drowned and died as a result of Asphyxia. P.W. 2 and the appellant managed to escape from the watery grave. The appellant who came out, went near a tamarind tree and set there. P.W. 2 who came out with wet clothes, immediately informed P.W. 3 Rajendran, who was separating coconuts, that his mother had thrown his sisters and him inside the well and attempted to drown herself. P.W. 3 did not believe the version of P.W. 2, since he was under the impression that the young boy was just joking. However, at or about that time, a vegetable vendor, who was passing on the road, commented that if the appellant wanted to die, she could have thrown herself and as to why she should throw her children inside the well. The words uttered by the vegetable vendor induced P.W.3 to go near the well. He found the corpse of one child floating inside the well. Meanwhile, appellant Vijayalakshmi backoned P.W. 4, Panchalai, who was grazing cattle in the nearby Pallikooda Cheniar Patti. When P.W. 4 went near and enquired the appellant, the latter gave out an extra-judicial confession, that she threw her children inside the well and she too fell inside. She and one child escaped and came out of the well. She also requested the passers by to save her children. The stray passers-by commented that the Children might have died and hence police should be informed. Meantime, P.W. 5 Velu, belonging to Necnathdurai Village was on his way to Chengam along with his friends to witness a cinema while the bus in which he was travelling was passing near the well, he found it crowd. He got down from the bus and went to the scene. On enquiry, he learnt that two children had died due to drowning inside the well. He found one corpse of a girl floating inside. He dived inside the well and brought out the said corpse. After coming up, he was informed that another child was also inside the same well. He dived again and came out with the corpse of the second child.