SHANMUGHAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is the accused in S. C. No. 1 of 1896 on the file of Court of Session, The Nilgiris Division, Uthagamandalam. He was found guilty of an offence under Section 302, IPC, convicted there under and sentenced to imprisonment for life. Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, the present action had been resorted to.

(2.) Brief facts are :- (a) The accused, being a barber by profession, is a resident of Jagathara village, situate within the limits of Aravankadu police station. P.Ws. 1 to 4, 7 and one Vasudevan (since deceased) are the residents of Karaikorai, situate adjacent to the village of the accused. They belonged to Paduga community. The accused, somehow or other, was stated to have developed illicit intimacy with P.W. 4. This became a talk of the village. Such illicit intimacy was also known to P.Ws. 3, 4, and 7 and the deceased. It appears, the illicit connec tion between a Paduga community woman, like P.W. 4 and the accused, a barber, had been re sented to by the villagers. (b) Some three months prior to the occurrence, which event happened on 15-9-1985, a panchayat was convened in the village to enquire about the illicit connection the accused had with P.W. 4. P.W. 7 one of the panchayatdars. In the said panchayat, the accused and P.W. 4 were sum moned. The deceased also participated in the panchayat. After enquiry, the panchayatdars de cided that the accused should not have any sort of a connection with P.W. 4 any further. They also directed the deceased to have a watch over the movements of the accused, so as to see that he is not at all making a visit to the house of P.W. 4. (c) There is a temple, going by the name Ranganathasamy Kovil situate in the village. On 15-9-1985 at about 7 PM, uriyadi thiruyizha was celebrated. In the said festival, the deceased Vasudevan also participated. As a consequence, the clothes he wore got drenched. At about 7-30 PM. he went to his house situate very near the temple, that is to say, 200 yards away from the temple to change his clothes. P.Ws. 1 and 2 also followed him. Adjacent to the house of the accused, there is a school. By the side of the school, firewood had been stocked. Near the place where the firewood had been stocked, the accused was then standing. A wordy altercation arose between the accused and the deceased. In the process of the wordly altercation that took place, the accused was stated to have inflicted a incisions out with the barber's knife (MO 1) on the left cheek of the deceased. That apart, he was also stated to have inflicted two more incisions on his neck. One Bommi Ammal alias Lakshmi was also stated to have been present there. She was stated to have raised a hue and cry as to inflicting incisions on the accused. On hearing the hue and cry, the villagers also rushed to the scene. The accused escaped from there, taking away the knife (MO 1) with him. (d) As a result of the incisied injuries, there was profuse bleeding from the injuries sustained by the deceased. In a bid to save the life on the victim -- the deceased, he had been bodily lifted by PWs. 1 and 2 to a nearby Cordinate Factory Hospital. In such a process, the clothes of P.Ws. 1 and 2, apart from Bommi Ammal alias Lakshmi got drenched with blood. (e) P.W. 8 was the then Civil Assistant Sur geon attached to the Cordinate Factory Hospital. At 8-15 PM. the victim-deceased had been exam ined by him. At that time, he was thoroughly unconscious and within 15 minutes of his exami nation, the victim-deceased died. Exhibit P.6 is the wound certificate he issued. (f) Subsequent to his death, P.W. 1 prepared Exhibit P. 1 complaint and presented before P.W. 11 then writer, Aravankadu police station. On receipt of the same, P.W. 11 registered it as a case in Crime No. 97/85 for an offence under Section 302, IPC. Exhibit P. 13 is the printed FIR. He prepared express reports and sent the same to the concerned officials. (g) P.W. 13 was the then Inspector of Police, Aravankadu Circle. On receipt of the express FIR, he took up further investigation in the a case. He went to the police station, where he seized from P.W. 1 MO 2 bloodstained banian and MO 3 blood-stained shirt, under Form No. 95. He also seized from P.W. 2 MO 4 bloodstained shirt, MO 5 banian and MO 6 dhothi, besides the blood stained clothes from Bommi Ammal alias Lakshmi. He then proceeded to Cordinate Fac tory Hospital. Between 10 PM and 1-30 AM (on 16-9-1985), he held inquest over the body of the deceased. Exhibit P. 14 is the inquest. P.W s. 1 and 2 were examined during inquest. After the inquest was over, he handed over the body of the; deceased to P.W. 12, along with a requisition for postmor tem. (h) He then searched for the accused and he was not available. On 16-9-1985 at 4-30 AM, he arrested the accused at Coonoor Vottuppattari junction. On interrogation, he voluntarily gave a confession under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. Exhibit P. 2 is the admissible portion of the confession. Pursuant to the said confession, The accused produced M.O. 1 barber's knife and M.O. 7 Jerkin, which had been recovered under Exhibit P. 3 mahazar. Exhibits P. 2 and P. 3 had been attested by P.W 5. He then proceeded and reached the scene at 6-30 AM. After inspecting the scene, he prepared Exhibit P. 4 observation mahazar. He also drew Exhibit P. 15, rough sketch of the scene. He recovered from the scene M.Os. 8 to 10 grass with earth under Exhibit P. 5 mahazar. Exhibits P. 4 and P. 5 were attested by P.W. 6. He then returned to the station, along with accused. Since he found certain injuries on the person of the accused, he had been sent, with a medical memo, to the hospital for examination and treatment. (i) P.W. 9 was the then Medical Officer attached to the Government Lawly Hospital, Coonoor. On receipt of requisition from P.W. 13, he had autopsy over the body of the deceased at 9 -10 AM. Exhibit P. 7 is the postmortem certificate. He would opine that all the injuries, as found described in Exhibit P. 7, could have been caused by a weapon, like MO. 1. He would further opine that injury No. 3 is fatal. (j) After the autopsy was over, the Constable P.W. 12 seized from the body, M.O. 11 banian with full sleeves, M.O. 12 torn shirt, M.O. 13 sleeveless banian; M.O. 14 torn jatti and M.O. 15 lungi and handed over the same at the police station, which appeared to have been seized under Form No. 95. (k) At 10-15 PM, the doctor P.W. 9 examined the accused and found on him certain abrasions and a contusion. Exhibit P. 8 is the wound certifi cate he issued. He would opine that the injuries he found on the person of the accused could have been caused by a fall. The accused had been subsequently sent to Court for remand, by P.W.13. (l) P. W. 13 sent Exhibit P. 9 requisition to the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Coonoor for despatching the incriminating material objects seized to the Chemical Examiner for the purpose of examination. On receipt of Exhibit P. 9 requisi tion, P.W. 10, the Headclerk attached to the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court, Coonoor despatched all the incriminating material objects to the Chemical Examiner, as per the directions of the Magistrate for the purpose of examination, under the original of Exhibit P. 10, office copy of the letter. Exhibits P. 11 and P. 12 are respectively the reports of the Chemical Examiner and the Serologist. (m) After completing the investigation, P.W. 13 laid a final report under Section 173(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the accused for an offence under Section 302, IPC on 30-11- 1985 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Coonoor.

(3.) On committal, learned Sessions Judge framed a charge under Section 302, IPC, against the accused. The accused, when questioned as respects the charge so framed, denied the same and claimed to be tried.