THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR Vs. CHITIKINA SUBBANNA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE respondents who were accused 1, 3 and 4 in Sessions case No. 9 of 1945 in the Court of Session, West Godavari, were tried with the second accused on a charge under Section 302, Indian Penal Code read with Section 34, Indian Penal Code in respect of the murder of one Arupalli Nara -simhulu. The learned Sessions Judge convicted the second accused of murder and sentenced him to death; and that conviction and sentence were confirmed and his appeal was dismissed by this Court (Referred Trial No. 156 and Cr. App. No. 552 of 1945). The learned Judge held that the respondents were not guilty of murder. He convicted the first accused of causing grievous hurt and sentenced him to five ytars' rigorous imprisonment and the other two accused of ' wrongful confinement'; sentence being one year's rigorous imprisonment each. They have not appealed but the Public Prosecutor, Madras, has filed this appeal against their acquittal on the charge of murder.

(2.) THE case for the prosecution was that early in the morning of the 26th December,. 1944 while the deceased was taking fodder for his cattle to his field, accused 3 and 4 caught hold of him and accused 2 aimed a blow with a tree -tapper's knife at his throat. The deceased put up his left arm to ward off the blow and received on it three cuts. Accused 1 who also had a tapper's knife cut him on the left arm. The deceased raised an alarm as soon as he ws attacked and P.W. 2, his -brother, who was coming behind him as well as P.W. 3 of the neighbouring field who had joined P.W. 2 on the way came running and tried to intervene, but ran away as the first and second accused threatened to cut them. P.Ws. 4 and 5, who were -in the neighbouring fields, also came running and meeting P.W. 2 on the way learnt from him that the four accused were cutting the deceased. When they arrived on the scene, they saw the accused running away. They then chased the accused for some distance and then returned to the deceased. P.Ws. 6, 7, 9 and 10 also came to the scene of occurrence and to them the deceased Narasimhulu stated that the accused had cut him. The deceased was then taken to the hospital at Achanta, three miles from the scene, which he reached at 9 A.M. There were three injuries on the left arm and one on the right. All of them were incised wounds and ' one of the injuries on the left arm had cut the brachial artery and vein. Apprehending that this injury might prove fatal, P.W. 1, the doctor, sent for P.W. 12, the village headman, who had the dying declaration Ex. C recorded in his presence by the karnam P.W. 13. In that statement which is attested by the doctor, Narasimhulu implicated the four accused and described the parts played by them in the attack. He said that the third accused caught hold of him, that the second accused came with a tapper's knife, that then the fourth accused also came and caught hold of him, that on the second accused attempting to cut his throat with the knife he raised his hands to ward off the blow and received the cuts on his left hand. Then the first accused came and cut him on his right hand and on his raising an alarm P.W. 3 and others came and the accused ran away. Narasimhulu died the same day at 6 -30 P.M. As already stated one of the injuries on the left arm had cut the brachial artery and vein. The injury inflicted by the first accused on the right arm had resulted in the fracture of the external condyle of the humerus. The postmortem examination disclosed that death was due to shock and haemorrhage resulting from the injuries.

(3.) THE rest of the evidence relates to the motive for the offence. There was enmity between the first accused on the one hand and the deceased and his brothers on the other due to rivalry in bidding at the toddy sales of 1944. Owing to the competition by the deceased, the first accused had to take the lease of the shops for a far higher amount than ususal. P.W. 15, the President of the Panchayat Board of Achanta, deposed that there were criminal cases in his court between the deceased and some others on the one hand and the first accused on the other. It is alleged in Ex. K that the deceased, P.W. 2 and others were breaking the pots tied to the trees of the first accused. The third and fourth accused are brothers. The first accused is the son of the third accused and the second accused in the son of the fourth accused.