SARANYA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, the sole accused in S.C.No.201 of 2013 on the file of the learned Sessions Judge, Cuddalore Division, Cuddalore District, stood charged for offence under Section 302 of IPC. He stands convicted for offence under Section 302 of IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.3,000/- in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years. Challenging the said conviction and sentence, the sole accused is now before this court with this criminal appeal.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief is as follows:- The deceased in this case was one Sri.Dakshinamurthy. The accused was residing at Kotlambakkam village along with her husband and children. On 11.06.2012 at 09.30 p.m., the accused, an young woman aged about 24 years, was alone at her house. At that time, the deceased went to her house and knocked at the doors of the house of the deceased. The accused opened the same. On entering into the same, the deceased advanced sexual overtures towards the accused. The accused resisted the same and she did not consent for sex with him. The deceased told her that he knew the fact that she had illicit intimacy with one Sri.Arivuchudar. He further threatened the accused that he would disclose the same to others so as to bring shame and disrepute to the accused. This, according to the prosecution case, infuriated the accused and she, immediately, pushed the deceased down and strangulated him with a belt and caused his death. Then with a view to erase the evidence of murder, she carried the dead body to the house of one Sri.Jegannathan, which was under construction, and abandoned the same there. Then, the accused fled away from the scene of occurrence.

(3.) The occurrence was not witnessed by any one. P.W.1,the mother of the deceased heard about the lying of the dead body of the deceased at the new house under construction belonging to one Sri.Jegannathan. Immediately, she went to the place of occurrence and confirmed the same. Thereafter, she went to Pudhupet Police Station and made a complaint under Ex.P.1. P.W.14, the then Inspector of Police, on receipt of the said complaint, registered a case in Crime No.216 of 2012 under Section 174(1) of Cr.P.C. Ex.P.13 is the FIR. He forwarded both the complaint (Ex.P.1) and the FIR (Ex.P.13) to the court. Then, P.W.14 took up the case for investigation. He proceeded to the place of occurrence at 09.45 a.m. on 12.06.2012, prepared an observation mahazar and a rough sketch in the presence of P.W.7 and another witness. He also recovered a ladies bicycle from the place of occurrence under a mahazar (Ex.P.4) in the presence of the same witnesses. Then, P.W.14 conducted inquest on the body of the deceased and forwarded the dead body to the Government Hospital, Panruti, Cuddalore District, for postmortem.