IN RE: ELUMALAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Appellant has been convicted by the learned II Additional Sessions Judge of Madras Division of an offence punishable under Section 302, I.P.C. for having on 5th June, 1973 at about 2 p.m. committed the murder of one Arumugam by beating him with an iron pipe on his head in front of Shop No. 67 Royapettah High Read, Madras and has been sentenced to imprisonment for life.

(2.) THE facts appearing in the evidence adduced on the side of the prosecution are as follows: P.W.6 and her husband P.W.8 were living in a house belonging to the Appellant at No. 50 Mundakanniamman Koil Street along with their children. About a week prior to the occurrence one night when P.W.8 was away from the house and his wife P.W. 6 was alone in the house with her children, the Appellant and one Francis who was working in the O K. Fabrication factory situated in Mundakkanniamman Koil Street went to the house of P. Ws. 6 and 8 and knocked at the door, and finding the Appellant and Francis there she questioned them why they came and knocked at the door, whereupon Francis ran away. P. W. 6 then chided the Appellant for having come and knocked at the door when her husband was away from the house; whereupon the Appellant retorted saying, "Shut up and go to bed" and he also abused her. P.W.6, however, closed the door, bolted it and then went off to sleep. The next morning when her husband P.W. 8 returned home at about 5 a.m., P.W. 6 cried and told him how Francis came and knocked at the door and when she opened it and questioned him he ran away and when she complained to the Appellant who was standing Dear his house about the conduct of Francis, the Appellant asked her to vacate the house and go away. P.W.8 then went to P.W. 12 who is also working in the O. K. Fabrication Factory, at about 9 a.m. and told him about that incident. He also told P.W. 12 that he was going to complain to the owner of the factory. Francis was also there at that time. Francis then apologized for his conduct. P.W. 6 then requested P.W. 7, who is residing next door to the house in which P.W. 6 was living with P.W. 8 hear the lookout for another house for him to live in and when P.W. 7 asked her why she wanted to shift to another house, she told her about the incident when Francis and the Appellant came to the house when P.W. 6 was alone in the house and knocked at the door and when P.W. 6 questioned them the Appellant asked her to shut up. Two days later, Arumugam who is the deceased in this case who was having a shop in the Royapettah High Road, tor repairing punctures and Vulcanising the tyres and tubes of cars, scooters and cycles, questioned the abovesaid Appellant and abused the Appellant and told him that instead of knocking at the door of the house of another man's wife and disgracing her, he could use the women in his house, as prostitutes. The Appellant thereupon uttered words of threat against Arumugam saying that he would deal with him in two days. This according to the prosecution furnished the motive for the murder of Arumugam which took place on 5th June, 1973 at about 2 p.m. On that afternoon at about 1 -30 p.m. Arumugam, whose shop is at No. 67 Royapettah High Read, borrowed a mat from P.W. 1 who lives at No. 67, Royapettah High Road and by the side of whose house Arumugam was having the vulcanising shop, and spread that mat on the road pavement in front of his shop and lay down and slept on it. At about 2 P.M. when P.W.I and her sister -in -law P.W.4 were in their house at 67, Royapettah. High Road talking in to each other, they heard somebody shouting "" whereupon they ran out of their house. P.W.2 and his wife P.W.3 who are residing at 39, Mundakkani. amman Koil Street which is close to the scene of the occurrence, while they were in there house heard that noise and they also came running out of the home. P. Ws. 1 to 4 saw the Appellant beating Arumugam once en his head with the iron pipe M.O.1 while Arumugham was lying on the mat and then they saw the Appellant going away to a short distance; throwing away the pipe and then returning to the place where Arumugam was and telling him, and then going away from the scene along with his daughter Mallika. The injured Arumugam was lying unconscious in a pool of blood. He was then removed to the Royapettah Hospital by P.W.13, a cycle rickshaw driver and one Jayaraman who had turned up to the scene on seeing, while they were seated in P.W.13's cycle rickshaw, a crowd new the Tiruvalluvar statue.

(3.) P .W.10, Duty Assitant Surgeon of that Hospital saw the injured at 2 -45 P.M., and found him unconscious and in a state of shock. P.W.10 called the duty Neuro Assistant Surgeon, sutured the wound on the scalp and administered oxygen as well as intravenous fluids and blood transfusion. the case was then referred to Neuro surgery for possible operation but the Neuro Surgeon found the patient not in a fit condition to be operated upon. the injured expired at 4 -30 P.M. on 5th June 1975.