JAYARAMAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE Jayaraman who has been convicted under Section 302, I. P. C. for the murder of his wife, Anusooya and sentenced to imprisonment for life is the appellant before us represented by Sri R. Srinivasan, counsel appearing as amicus curiae,

(2.) THE accused and the deceased were married three years prior to the occurrence. They were closely related but the marriage was an unhappy one and there had been frequent quarrels between the couple, the accused often indulging in acts of violence on the deceased. There is evidence that, about month prior to the occurrence, at a Panchayat convened, the parties agreed to sever the marital relationship and the accused left for Bangalore. On the day of occurrence, 15-9-1964 when the deceased, with 15 other women, was transplanting paddy seedlings in the field of one Muthammal (P. W. 8) at about 10 a. m. the accused came on the scene and called the deceased out. As she was delaying response to his call, the accused entered on the puddled field and dragged her out by the tuft to a place three fields off. There while the deceased was tying up her dishevelled hair, the accused pulled out a koduval which he had concealed1 under his clothes and delivered on her several1 cuts indiscriminately on the neck, right shoulder, left wrist and so on. The women folk who had been transplanting seedlings along with the deceased got frightened and raised hue and cry; and the accused left the place, proceeded to Melpadi police station and presented himself, with the koduval before the Sub-Inspector of Police (P. W. 30) who was then in charge of the station. The Koduval (M. O. 5) with which he had hacked the deceased, was seized from him under a Mahazar attested by P. W. 22. The deceased had fallen on the puddled field. The villagers who gathered there lifted and placed her on acot under neighbouring banian tree. There were multiple injuries on the deceased, one of the cuts practically severing the left hand. Blood was oozing from the wounds. P. W. 30, the Sub-Inspector of Police, reached the scene of occurrence at about 12-45 p. m. and the deceased was immediately sent to the Government Pentlar Hospital, Vellore.

(3.) THE woman Civil Asst. Surgeon attached to the hospital Dr. Bhuvaneshwari (P. W. 10) examined the deceased at about 4-45 p. m. and noticed her seven external injuries. The first injury was an incised wound on the back of the left forearm, all the extensor tendons cut and the left hand lying loose attached by the skin and facie of the anterior aspect of the forearm, The second was a lacerated injury over the right shoulder about 5 inches by 4 inches exposing the shoulder joint, head of the humerus being exposed with two cuts in the head of the humerus. According to P. W. 10, injuries 1 and 2 were grievous and the others, simple. She gave her opinion that, if the seven injuries were not attended to, they were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. The deceased was in the hospital as an inpatient for a period of 50 days and expired on 5-11-1964. The cause of death was stated to be,. on post mortem examination by P. W. 10, "septicaemia caused by delayed complications of multiple injuries". One Dr. Jayalakshmii (P. W. 17) actually treated the deceased. the date of the occurrence, shortly after the admission in the hospital, the services of a Magistrate were requisitioned and a dying declaration of the deceased recorded. On 15-9 1964 itself after the dying declaration had been recorded, the left wrist was amputated.