AMARAVATHI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS judgment shall govern the above two appeals. C. A. No. 839/00 is by A-2 and C. A. No. 472/01 is by A-1 in S. C. No. 201 of 1999 on the file of the II Addl. Sessions Judge-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dharmapuri at Krishnagiri. The appellants were charged under Sections 302 and 201 IPC and on being found guilty, they were sentenced to imprisonment for life and directed to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/= with a default sentence of three months for the former offence and they were sentenced to three years rigourous imprisonment and directed to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/= with a default sentence of three months for the latter offence. Hence, the present appeals by the appellants challenging their conviction and sentence.

(2.) THE short facts necessary for the disposal of these appeals are as follows :- P. W. 1 is the son of the deceased while P. W. 3 is the wife of the deceased. THEy were residents of Solliyampalli village. A-1 and A-2 also belong to the same village. On 17. 1. 99, at about 4. 00 p. m. , A-1 came to the house of the deceased and asked P. W. 1 as to the whereabouts of his father in order to take him along with him for having mutton food. P. W. 1 informed A-1 that the deceased was in the house of Madheswaran so as to enable A-1 to go and take the deceased for taking food. Accordingly, A-1 went and took the deceased outside for taking food. Till about 8. 30 p. m. the deceased did not return. THErefore, P. W. 3, the wife of the deceased gave P. W. 1 a torch and asked him to go in search of his father. P. W. 1 took the torch, M. O. 1 and went in search of his father. When he was just crossing the cane field of Ranganathan Chettiar, he heard the distressing cries of his father. When he reached there, he found a-1 attacking his father with a spade, while A-2 was stabbing him on his chest and other parts of the body. P. W. 1, on seeing this, shouted for help. A-1 threatened him with dire consequences. Immediately P. W. 1 ran away from the place. THEreafter, A-1 and A-2 took the dead body of the deceased and dropped it inside the well situate on the backside of the house of P. W. 1.

(3.) IN the meantime, A-1 and A-2 were caught by the villagers and they were produced at the police station at about twelve noon on 18. 1. 99. They were arrested. A-1 gave a voluntary confessional statement, the admissible portion of which is marked as Ex. P-18, pursuant to which A-1 produced M. O. 6 and A-2 produced M. O. 7 and they were seized under a mahazar, ex. P-7. All the material objects recovered from the scene of occurrence, from the dead body of the deceased and from the accused were sent to court along with a requisition to send them for analysis. Accordingly the material objects were subjected to analysis, which resulted in the receipt of Ex. P-17, chemical analysis report and Ex. P-18, serology report. On the completion of investigation, final report was filed against the appellants by the investigating officer. The case was committed to the court of sessions, necessary charges were framed by the sessions court and the case was taken up for trial.