AYYANAR Vs. STATE REP. BY THE INSPECTOR OF POLICE, NEYVELI TOWN POLICE STATION, CUDDALORE DISTRICT. [CRIME NO.510 OF 2011]

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants are Accused Nos. 1 and 2 in S.C.No.89 of 2012 on the file of the learned Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Cuddallore, Cuddalore District. A1 stood charged for offences under Sec. 376 r/w 511, 302 and 201 of IPC. A2 stood charged for offence under Sec. 201 r/w 302 of IPC. By judgment dated 15.03.2013, the trial court convicted A1 for offences under Sections 302 and 201 of Penal Code and convicted A2 for offence under Sec. 201 r/w 302 of IPC. Accordingly, the trial court sentenced A1 to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000.00 in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a further period of three years for offence under Sec. 302 of Penal Code and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000.00 in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a further period of 2 years for offence under Sec. 201 of IPC. A2 has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000.00 in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a further period of two years for offence under Sec. 201 r/w 302 of IPC. The trial court acquitted A1 from the charge under Sec. 376 r/w 511 of IPC. Challenging the above said conviction and sentences, A1 and A2 have come up with this criminal appeal.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief is as follows:- The deceased in this case was one Miss. Kanitha. She was hardly 10 years old at the time of occurrence. P.Ws.1 and 2 are the father and mother respectively of the deceased child. P.Ws.1 and 2 have three children of whom the first child is a male by name Velan. The deceased was the second child. The third child is a female by name Initha. All the three children were studying in a private school known as Thiripurani Matriculation School at Abathanapuram. They were all residing at Vanathirayapuram Village. Their son Velan, who was doing X Standard, used to go to the school every day in the bicycle in which he used to take his youngest sister to the school and return back in the evening wit her in the cycle. It was the usual practise of P.W.1 to take the deceased in his motor cycle and to drop her in the morning at her school. In the evening, P.W.1's brother by name Mr. Vivekananthan P.W.4 used to take the deceased also from the school to the house of P.W.1 along with his own children who were also studying in the same school. For any reason, if P.W.4 could not go to the school on time, the deceased Kanitha used to return home on walk.

(3.) On 17.08.2011, as usual, P.W.1 had dropped the deceased at the school in the morning. She was studying V Standard in the said private school. The school - hour was over by 04.00 p.m. But, P.W.4 could not go to the school on time to pick up the deceased along with his children. It is alleged that the deceased, therefore, was on walk towards her house.