BALAGOPAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant Balagopal stands convicted by the learned First Additional Sessions Judge of Madras Division of offences punishable under two counts of Section 302, I. P. C. for having on 14-1-1971 at about 12. 15 P. M. at his house in the I. C. F. Colony committed the murders of his wife Padmavathy and his son Prasob by cutting them with a knife and has been sentenced to imprisonment for life under each count.

(2.) THE appellant joined the Integral Coach Factory as a Peon and after some years of service he was promoted as materials clerk. He married Padmavathy, the only daughter of P. W. 16. The appellant and his wife were living at door No, 166/5, I. C. F. Colony. Padmavathy went to the house of her mother P. W. 16 for her second confinement," leaving her husband Balagopal at 'madras. Subsequently after the birth of the second child, the appellant went to Tellichery to the house of his mother-in-law P. W. 16, stayed there for a week and returned with his wife and the child to Madras. P. W. 16 has testified that the married life of the appellant with Padmavathy was quite happy and the appellant was behaving in a very friendly manner towards his wife and during his visits to P. W. 16's house at Tellichery the appellant never quarrelled with his wife and P. W. 16 found no abnormality in the behaviour of the appellant towards his wife.

(3.) ON 14-1-1971 at about 12. 15 P. M. P. W. 3 who is working as a Rakshak in the I. C. F. and who was residing at door No. 166/4, adjacent to the house in which the appellant was living with his wife Padmavathy and his child Prasob, heard at about 12. 15 P. M. , somebody shouting from the appellant's house [original in Tamil omitted-Ed. ] whereupon he came out and looked through the window of the appellant's house and saw the appellant's wife kneeling on the floor and the appellant standing near her with the bill-hook M. O. 1 in his hand. P. W. 2 who lives opposite to the house of the appellant at door No. 165/6 was standing in front of his house at that time. P. W. 3 called out to P. W. 2 and told him that he heard some noise in the house of the appellant and asked him to go and see. P. W. 2 thereupon went to the appellant's house, looked through the window and saw the appellant cutting his child with the aurval M. O. 1 and he saw the appellant's wife with cut injuries lying on the floor. The door of the appellant's house was bolted from inside. P. W. 2 thereupon raised an alarm shouting that Balagopal was cutting his child. P. W. 2, however, without doing anything further ran into his house. P. W. 1 who resides at door No. 166/2 in the I. C. F. Colony and who works in the Railway Protection Force was at that time going from his house to report for duty. P. W. 3 told him that the appellant had cut his wife and his child and they were both lying in a pool of blood. P. W. 1 thereupon went to the appellant's house and looked through the window and saw the appellant's wife and child lying in a pool of blood and the appellant with the Aruval M. O. 1 in his hand going round and round the bodies. P. W. 1 then proceeded to the Police Station and gave the complaint Ex. P-1 to P. W. 18 the Inspector of Police who was on duty at that time. Meanwhile, P. W. 3 also looked through the window of the appellant's house.