SUNDARAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant who was the sole accused in S.C.No.228 of 2000 and convicted and sentenced by the learned Principal Sessions Judge, Erode Division, to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 302 I.P.C. and also simple imprisonment for one year for the offence under Section 309 I.P.C., has filed this appeal.

(2.) The brief facts of the prosecution case are as follows:- The accused is the husband of the deceased Chitra. Two and half years prior to the occurrence, the marriage between the accused and the deceased took place. Out of the wedlock, they got a female child. P.W.1 Eswari is the sister of the deceased. P.W.2 Nagu @ Nagaraj and P.W.3 Sellammal are the father and mother of the deceased. The accused and deceased lived at Chellappagoundanvalasu. The accused thought that the deceased Chitra was a spendthrift and he also suspected her fidelity and hence, he used to quarrel with the deceased and abused her due to the above suspicion. He did not attend to his work regularly. On the fateful day, P.W.1 and the deceased went to the Government Hospital, Perundurai for taking treatment to the child of the deceased. Then, the deceased returned to her home at Chellappagoundeanvalasu at about 02.00 p.m. and P.W.1 returned to Kariamparai. At about 02.00 p.m., at his house, the accused cut his wife Chitra with M.O.1 brutally and caused multiple injuries. He also inflicted injury on his throat and left from the scene of occurrence. He met P.W.4 and informed the crime committed by him against his wife. (ii) On hearing the news, P.W.1 Eswari along with her father P.W.2 Nagu @ Nagaraj went to the house of the accused and saw her sister lying in a pool of blood. She also saw cut injuries on the cheek and right hand of the deceased. An Ambulance was arranged and the deceased was taken to the Government Hospital, Perundurai. P.W.15 Dr.Arumugam sent the deceased to the Government Headquarter Hospital at Erode, since her condition was serious. P.W.17 Dr.M.L.K. Rajan, attached to the Government Headquarter Hospital at Erode examined the deceased and found her unconscious. He found the following injuries:-

(3.) Bfore the Trial Court, on behalf of the prosecution side, P.W.1 to P.W.18 were examined, Exs.P.1 to P.23 documents were filed and M.Os.1 to 10 were marked, whereas on the side of the defence, one document was filed as Ex.D.1.