VIJAYAKUMAR Vs. INSPECTOR OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Vijayakumar, the appellant herein was convicted for the offences under Sections 302 and 392 I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment under Section 302 I.P.C. and seven years rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.500/- under Section 392 I.P.C. Challenging the same, this appeal has been filed.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief is as follows:- i) On 11/12.9.1994 at about 1.00 a.m., the accused Vijayakumar accompanied by the deceased Rajathi, came to Ooty and requested the Manager of Sabari Lodge, P.W.1 to allot a room. Accordingly, the accused was allotted room No. 15. The accused wrote his name and address as "Mani", S/o Palaniappan, 11/10, Maniakkara Street, Thiruppur. P.W.1, the Manager of the lodge took both the accused and the deceased to room No.15 at the first floor and opened the door and allowed them to occupy the room. On 12.9.1994 early morning at about 6.30 a.m., the accused alone came down and informed P.W.1 that he was going out to have tea. Till 12 noon, he did not turn up. This was informed by P.W.1 to P.W.2 Premkumar, the owner of the lodge. On suspicion, both P.Ws. 1 and 2 went to room No.15 and knocked the door. There was no response. Therefore, P.W.1 peeped through the gap between the door and the floor and found water on the floor of the room. Therefore, with the help of master key, they opened the door. To their shock and surprise, they found dead body of the deceased with cut injuries underneath the cot. ii) P.W.1 rushed to the police station and gave complaint Ex.P1 to P.W.21 Head Constable. Ex.P40 is the F.I.R. A case was registered under Section 302 I.P.C. On receipt of the message, P.W.24 Inspector of Police came to the scene of occurrence at about 1.15 p.m., prepared Ex.P3 observation mahazar and Ex.P42 rough sketch. He conducted inquest over the dead body of the deceased between 2.45 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. Ex.P43 is the inquest report. He recovered M.O.2 blood stained cotton pillow, M.O.3 blood stained ladies slippers and M.O.4 empty canvass bag. He also recovered M.O.5 sari, M.O.6 black colour bra, M.O.7 red colour jacket, M.Os. 8 and 9 eversilver tumblers and M.O.10 empty brandy bottle under mahazar Ex.P5. This was attested by P.W.5, the mahazar witness. Thereafter, the dead body was sent for post-mortem through a requisition. iii) P.W.12 Doctor commenced post-mortem on the dead body of the deceased on 13.9.94 at 12 noon and noticed 8 cut injuries and a small contusion. P.W.12 Doctor issued Ex.P18 post-mortem certificate and opined that the deceased would appear to have died of multiple injuries. Final opinion was given in Ex.P19 stating that the deceased would appear to have died of shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries. iv) In order to verify the identity of the deceased, P.W.21 Inspector of Police gave advertisement in newspapers. In the meantime, he seized registers of the Sabari Lodge relating to the period from 29.8.1994 to 12.9.1994. P.W.24 tried to get the real address of the said Mani by sending a team to verify his address on 14.9.1994. P.W.24 came to know that the address furnished by the accused in the lodge register was false. v) On 18.9.1994, P.W.5 Vijayakumar, the son of the deceased on noticing the photo of the deceased in newspapers, approached P.W.24 and then P.W.24 took him to the mortuary where he identified the deceased as his mother's dead body. P.W.24 went to the house of the deceased and examined P.Ws.5 and 6, the son and mother of the deceased respectively and seized M.O.11 Godrej hair dye bottle. After getting correct particulars with regard to identity of the deceased, he tried to get a clue with regard to identity of the accused, who involved in the murder. Then, on verification with the registers, he came to know that the handwriting of "Mani" and the handwriting of one Vijayakumar, the accused, who stayed in the lodge on earlier occasions, were identical. After taking down the address in the register, he proceeded to the residential address of the said Vijayakumar at Kuniamuthur, Coimbatore and ascertained that the said Vijayakumar left the house on 11.9.1994 and returned home on 12.9.1994 and thereafter, he was absconding. On entertaining a strong suspicion against him, P.W.24 took effective steps to arrest him. vi) On 27.10.1994, he came to know that the accused Vijayakumar voluntarily surrendered before the learned Judicial Magistrate No.II, Coimbatore. Then, he made a requisition to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Coimbatore to arrange for identification parade for enabling P.W.1 to identify the accused. Accordingly, the identification parade was arranged by P.W.20 Judicial Magistrate, Coonoor, and the same was held on 1.11.1994. P.W.1 identified the accused in the parade 4 times correctly. Thereafter, he obtained an order from the learned Judicial Magistrate permitting him to take finger prints and the specimen signatures of the accused and the same was done on 3.11.1994 in the presence of the Jail Superintendent. The finger prints and the specimen signatures were sent for comparison to the Finger Print Expert. On 4.11.1994, he applied for police custody of the accused and after obtaining the police custody on 5.11.1994, P.W.24 obtained his confession. The accused took P.W.24 to Vedal on 6.11.1994 at 4.30 p.m. and on the basis of his confession, P.W.24 seized M.O.1 key and M.O.16 knife. Vii) Then, on 7.11.1994, P.W.24 took the accused to Coimbatore where the accused identified P.W.9 Sampathkumar to whom he sold the jewels that belonged to the deceased. When P.W.9 was interrogated, he admitted having purchased the jewels from the accused on 10.10.1994. Then, M.O.12 ring, M.O.13 ear stud, M.O.14 twisted gold chain and M.O.15 wheat cut chain were recovered from P.W.9. viii) Thereafter, the F.I.R. was altered into one under Sections 302 and 380 I.P.C. and the Express F.I.R. was sent to the concerned Judicial Magistrate. Then, the relatives of the deceased were called and asked to identify the jewels and accordingly, they identified the jewels as that of the deceased. ix) In the meantime, P.W.24 obtained the report from P.W.16 Finger Print Expert stating that the finger prints of the accused tallied with the finger prints contained in M.Os. 8 and 9 tumblers and M.O.10 brandy bottle recovered from the scene of occurrence. The specimen signatures obtained from the accused were also sent to P.W.14 Handwriting Expert to compare the signatures and handwritings found in the registers. Accordingly, P.W.14 sent the report stating that the handwriting of the accused tallied with the handwriting of Vijayakumar and "Mani" which were entered in the respective pages of the registers. x) After completion of the investigation, P.W.24 filed the charge sheet against the accused for the offences under Sections 302 and 380 of I.P.C. However, the charges have been framed by the trial Court for the offences under Sections 302 and 392 I.P.C.

(3.) During the course of trial, on behalf of the prosecution, P.Ws.1 to 24 were examined, Exs. P1 to P47 were filed and M.Os.1 to 20 were marked.