MARIAPPAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been preferred against the conviction and sentence imposed on the sole accused in S. C. No. 195 of 1988 by the Additional sessions Judge, Ramanathapuram at Madurai . Learned Sessions Judge found the accused/ appellant guilty of an offence under sec. 302, I. P. C. insofar as the deceased is concerned and under Sec. 324, I. P. C. insofar as P. W. 1 and P. W. 2 are concerned. The trial Judge imposed punishment of life sentence under Sec. 302, I. P. C. and one year rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Sec. 324, I. P. C. two counts, and directed the sentences to run concurrently.

(2.) THE facts leading to the appeal are as follows: THE scene of occurrence is the door step of Prabu Video vision bearing Door No. 6, in the Bus-stand road, in the town of Aruppukottai . P. W. 1 is the owner of the said shop. P. W. 2 who was unemployed at that time along with the deceased, Rajaram, were sitting on the door-step of the said shop and engaged in conversation at about 10. 00 p. m. on 13,5,1988. Only a few other shops were open at that part of the day. P. W. 3 and one Murthy were also standing in front of the shop, talking to each other. At that time the accused is said to have suddenly appeared with a knife and shouted saying there was a long-standing enmity between him and the deceased, Rajaram and that he had once been tied to an electrical post by the deceased and defamed and he was there, to take vengeance on the deceased. So saying he struck at the deceased repeatedly with the knife shouting at the same time: (THE meaning you die with these stab injuries ). Stabs given by the accused fell on the right hip, right chest and on the right hand. P. Ws. 1 and 2 tried to prevent the attack. THEreupon the accused is said to have attacked by both P. Ws. 1 and 2 inflicting bleeding injuries. P. W. 1 received a stab on the left side of his chest and the right wrist. THE accused thereafter ran away towards south. P. W. 3 and Murthy chased him for some distance. THEy however, unable to catch the accused saying that he had gone away towards Malaiarasan temple. A taxi TNI 5625 was arranged and all the three injured persons namely, the deceased and P. Ws. l and 2 along with P. W. 3 and Murthy proceeded to the Government Hospital, Aruppukottai. THEy reached there at about 10. 30 p. m. P. W. 5 was the Doctor in attendance at the government Hospital, Aruppukottai. He examined P. W. 2 at about 10. 30 p. m. on 13. 5. 1988 and found two injuries on him. P. W. 2 had told the Doctor that a known person had stabbed him at about 10. 00 p. m. Ex. P-2 is the wound certificate issued in respect of P. W. 2. In his opinion the injuries could have been caused by a weapon like M. O. 1. At about the same time he examined P. W. 1 and found on him a single injury. Ex. P-3 is the wound certificate relating to P. W. 1 THE doctor also opined that the injury on P. W. 1 could have been caused by weapon like M. O. 1. At about 10. 45 p. m. he examined the deceased Rajaram brought by p. W. 3 and Murthy. At the time of examination the deceased was not conscious and his breathing was-irregular. He found on him three injuries. In spite of treatment given to the deceased, he passed away. Since all the three had been brought without any police memo, the Doctor P. W. 5 sent an intimation Ex. P-4, to the Sub Inspector of Police, Aruppukottai. Ex. P-5 death intimation was despatched at about 11. 00 p. m. to the police station noting the time of death as 10. 45 p. m. P. W. 13 was the Sub-Inspector of Police (Law and Order), aruppukottai Police Station. He received intimation at about 10. 50 p. m. from the Government Hospital, Aruppukottai, regarding the attack on the deceased and p. Ws. l and 2. He proceeded to the hospital at about 11. 00 p. m. and found that rajaram had already passed away at about 10. 45 p. m. In fact, the death memo Ex. P-5 was handed over to the Sub-Inspector, P. W. 13 in the hospital itself. He recorded a statement from P. W. 1 and read over the same and get his thumb impression after reading over the same to him. P. W. 5, Doctor was present throughout the recording of the statement and he has attested Ex. P-1. THE father of the deceased one Kandavelu also signed Ex. P-1 as a witness. He recovered from P. W. 1 blood stained shirt M. O. 2 and from P. W. 2 lungi, towel and shirt M. Os. 3 to 5. However, he did not prepare mahazar for the same. He came back to the Police Station at 11. 40 p. m. and registered Crime No. 351 of 1988 under Secs. 302 and 324, I. P. C. Ex. P-16 is the Printed First Information Report and they were sent to the higher officials. THE Inspector of Police, aruppukottai, P. W. 14 came to the police station at about 00. 15 hours and received the First Information Report. P. W. 14 proceeded to the spot at about 00. 30 hours. He prepared the observation Mahazar Ex. P-18 in the presence of one valliappan and Sekar. He prepared a rough sketch Ex. P-19. He took P. W. 8, photographer and caused photographs to be taken. He recovered M. Os. 13 to 15 under Ex. P-20 in the presence of the said witnesses Valliappan and Sekar. M. O. 13 is the blood stained broken pieces of concrete plate. M. O. 14 is a sample concrete plate. M. O. 15 is a Goldflake cigarette butt. In the meanwhile P. W. 5 had advised that P. Ws. 1 and 2 should be taken to the Government hospital, madurai, for further treatment and they were accordingly, taken to the government Hospital, Madurai. It is only after Ex. P-1 was recorded they were taken to the Government Hospital, Madurai. P. W. 6 was the Doctor in the casuality ward of the Madurai Government Hospital at 01. 00 hours. He examined p. W. 2 who was referred to from the Government Hospital, Aruppukottai, with the accident Register Card. THE injuries found by P. W. 6 tallied with the injuries noted in the Accident Register Card. On the same day 01. 05 hours he admitted p. W. 1 who was also referred by the Government Hospital, Aruppukottai. THE injuries found on his tallied with the injuries noted in the Accident Register Card. Both were admitted as inpatients. P. W. 7 is also a Doctor in the Government hospital, Madurai and he had examined P. Ws. 1 and 2 at about 1. 30 a. m. on 14. 5. 1988. According to him there were no injuries on vital organ and after treatment they were discharged on 20. 5. 1988. P. W. 14, Investigating Officer proceeded to the Government Hospital, Madurai and reached there at about 2. 00 p. m. on 14. 5. 1988. He recorded statement from P. Ws. 1 and 2 who were undergoing treatment in Ward No. 99. He then came back to Aruppukottai and conducted inquest on the body of the deceased between 7. 00 a. m. and 9. 30 a. m. Ex. P-19 is the inquest report. He examined P. Ws. 3 and 4 at the inquest. He sent a requisition ex. P-2 through P. W. 10 for the conduct of autopsy. P. W. 9 is the Assistant surgeon in the Government Hospital, Aruppukottai and he received the requisition Ex. P-7 and conducted autopsy on the body at about 10. 30 a. m. In his opinion, the deceased would have died of shock and hemorrhage due to multiple injuries and injury to the liver about 10 to 14 hours prior to postmortem, ex. P-8 is the post-mortem certificate. In his opinion all the injuries could have caused by a weapon like M. O. 1. He also opined that injury No. 1 was necessarily fatal. P. W. 14, on formation proceeded to Moopar Oorani about six kilometres from Aruppukottai, and arrested the accused in the presence of P. W. 11. He recorded a confessional statement, admissible portion of which is Ex. P-9. On his information, the knife used for inflicting the injuries on the deceased and P. Ws. 1 and 2 was recovered: THE accused had taken them to the place at karuvelankadu where Under a bush he had concealed the knife, P. W. 14 also recovered a shirt M. O. 12 under Ex. P. 10 in the presence of the same witnesses namely, Karuppusamy and others. He examined the other witnesses. On 16. 5. 1988 he sent a requisition Ex. P-11 for sending the Materia] Objects for Chemical analysis, P. W. 12 speaks to the fact that on the requisition Ex. P-11 he sent the Material Objects under Ex. P-12 for chemical analysis. Exs. P-13 and P-14 are the reports of the Chemical Analyst and Ex. P-15 is the report of the serologist. On 31. 5. 1988 P. W. 14 examined P. Ws. 5, 6 and 7. On completion of the investigation he filed a final report under Sec. 173 (2), Crl. P. C; on 4. 6,1988.

(3.) THE evidence of P. W. 3 has come up again" for sharp criticism, because in chief examination he categorically stated that he did not know the accused and that it was only at the time of occurrence that he had met the accused. In other respects he had also spoken exactly on the lines of the evidence of P. Ws. 1 and 2. P. W. 3 is the witness who along with Murthy had chased the accused upto a distance of about 225 feet and thereafter gave up the chase. In cross-examination he has stated thus: He personally knew the accused being tied to an electrical post by the deceased Rajaram. He has also spoken to the fact that at that time, it was only after the accused challenged the others that they could not do anything with him and proceeded to remove his dhoti in the presence of everybody that the deceased had caused the accused to be tied to an electrical post and beaten him by way of warning him. THE suggestion by the defence that the accused did not misbehave in the street and there was no enmity between the accused and the deceased was denied by the witness. It has been elicited in cross-examination that while the deceased and P. Ws. 1 and 2 entered into the car the clothes of P. W. 3 were also stained with blood. Similarly, the clothe of Murthy was also stained with blood, P. W. 3 admits that his clothes were not recovered by the police on the ground that very little blood had been seen on his clothes. THE argument of defence counsel that this lapse on the part of the prosecution is serious, cannot be accepted by us. No doubt, the prosecution should have taken care to seize the clothes to rule out any doubt. THE question whether there was enough blood on the clothes is a matter for the Chemical Analyst. However, we do not think that this small lapse will affect the prosecution case.