LAWS(MAD)-2007-6-75

MURTHY Vs. STATE

Decided On June 12, 2007
MURTHY Appellant
V/S
STATE REP. BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE (LAW AND ORDER), Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant in this appeal stands convicted in s. C. No. 178 of 2005 on the file of Additional Court of Sessions (Fast Track court No. III), Chennai under Section 302 I. P. C. , for which he stands sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life together with a fine of Rs. 1,000/- carrying a default sentence. He is therefore before this court in this appeal challenging his conviction. Heard Mr. S. Govindarajan, learned counsel for the appellant and mr. C. T. Selvam, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

(2.) ACCORDING to the prosecution and admittedly in a drunken brawl the accused is shown to have fatally attacked the victim by name sathiyaseelan at about 3. 30 p. m. on 27. 3. 2005 just in front of the liquor shop run by the Government Corporation resulting in his death, two days later. To prove their case, the prosecution examined P. Ws. 1 to 16 besides marking Exs. P. 1 to P. 26 and M. Os. 1 to 5. The defence did not let in any oral evidence but marked Ex. D. 1, the death intimation of Sathiyaseelan. P. Ws. 1,2 and 4 are examined as eye witnesses to the crime. P. W. 1 is working as a salesmen in the liquor shop run by the Government Corporation. ACCORDING to him, the accused and the deceased used to visit the shop for buying liquor and therefore he knows them well. The accused is a rag picker. At 3. 30 p. m. on the occurrence day the accused and deceased came to his liquor shop; purchased liquor and sitting outside the shop started consuming it and at that time P. W. 1 saw the accused demanding a sum of Rs. 2/- from Sathiaseelan, since deceased for which, sathiaseelan replied that he had no money. P. W. 1 noticed exchange of words between the two; the accused catching hold of the victim's head and violently shaking it forward and backward. Then he broke the bottle and stabbed sathiaseelan just below his left jaw resulting in a profusely bleeding injury. Before stabbing, the accused declared that only if Sathiaseelan is left alive he would torment him. P. W. 2 and another person were also working at that time in the shop and all of them transported the injured to the Government royapettah Hospital in an Autorickshaw. Then P. W. 1 and the shop supervisor by name Ramadoss went to the police station, where a complaint was lodged, written personally by P. W. 1. Ex. P. 1 is the said complaint. P. W. 1 was examined by the police. M. O. 1 is the broken bottle used by the accused in inflicting the injury on the injured namely, Sathiaseelan, since deceased. P. W. 2 would state that he went to visit one of his friends in the road in which the liquor shop was located. Not finding his friend there, P. W. 2 called him over mobile and told that he would wait in the liquor shop in that road and proceeded towards the liquor shop. Since he often goes to that place he knows P. W. 1 and others and therefore they were talking with them. He also noticed the accused and the deceased sitting near the shop and consuming liquor. As far as the occurrence proper is concerned, he would state that, at that time the accused wanted a sum of Rs. 2/- from the deceased and when he said that he did not have money, the accused took possession of a bottle lying nearby; broke it and keeping it in his hand, violently shook the head of the victim by holding his tuft. The victim pleaded for mercy to spare him promising that he would not have any contact what so ever with the accused. For that the accused replied that he can do so only if he is left alive and when the victim tried to wriggle out of the clutch, the accused with the broken bottle in his hand stabbed him in the neck and then he ran away. His rest of the evidence is more or less on the same lines as spoken to by P. W. 1. P. W. 4 is residing close to the road where the liquor shop is situated. He was passing the liquor shop on the afternoon of 27. 3. 2005 where he noticed the accused and the deceased quarrelling near the liquor shop. P. W. 4 is acquainted with the accused and the deceased as they used to visit the shop often. P. W. 4 is having a non-vegetarian stall in the Dams road - a nearby road. His rest of the evidence on the occurrence proper is more or less on the same lines as spoken to by P. Ws. 1 and 2. In his evidence in cross P. W. 4 had stated that he had come to know about the crime only after the death of the victim.

(3.) P. W. 15 is the Doctor, who did post-mortem on the dead body on receipt of the requisition at 2. 55 p. m. on 30. 3. 2005. During post-motem he found various symptoms as noted by him in Ex. P. 13, the post-mortem report. The symptoms noted therein are as hereunder:- "injuries:- Abrasion : Dark brown in colour. 1. 2. 5 x0. 5 cm over right side neck and it lies 6 cm below mid chin and 11 cm from suprasternal notch. 2. A sutured wound seen over left side of neck measuring 3 cm long with 3 sutures and it lies 6 cm. below left mastoid process. On removal the edges are irregular measuring 4 x 1 x 0. 5 cm. The underlying vessels and nerves where found intact with surrounding stripped muscle contused. On further exploration:- Fracture dislocation of C-5 C6 vertibra with extensive contusion involving the pre and para vertebral muscles and surroundings soft tissue contused measuring 6 x 4 cm with circumferential contusion of spinal cord to a lengh of 3 cm seen at the level. 3. Two linear abrasion over front of left axillary region measuring 4 x 0. 25 cm each. 4. 3 x 1 cm over aspect of lower 3rd of left fore arm. 5cm above the left wrist. 5. 1 x 1 cm over aspect of lower 3rd of left fore arm. 6. 1 x 1 cm over left medial malleolus. 7. 2 x 1 cm over lower 3rd of inner aspect of right leg. 8. 0. 5 x 5 cm over right medial malleolus. 9. 0. 5 x 0. 5 cm over front of lower 3rd of right leg. 10. 5 x 0. 25 cm over outer aspect of lower 3rd of right leg. 11. 3 x 1 cm over inner aspect of right hand. 12. 0. 5 x 0. 5 cm over back of right shoulder. Heart: Normal in size. Chambers empty. Valve - normal. Coronaries - Patent. Athromatous plaques seen over root of aorta. Lungs: Cut section congested. Hyoid : Intact. Stomach : Normal. Stomach. empty. Cut section mucosa congested. Liver, Spleen Kidneys : cut section congested. Large intestines : Distended with gas. Bladder : Empty. Pelvis : Intact. Head : Scalp normal. Cranial vault - Intact. Dura membrane. Intact Brain Oedematous and congested. Cut section multiple petechial haemorrhages seen over white matter of both cerebral hemispheres. Base of Skull : Intact Spinal column : Intact" The Doctor opined that death is due to cervical spine injuries sustained and to an apparent eye the internal injury is not easily visible and the internal injury is possible if the head of a person is violently moved hither and thither. As an enclosure to Ex. P. 23 letter, P. W. 16 sent the case properties to the court. Exs. P. 25 and P. 26 are the other reports received from the laboratory. After completing all the legal formalities P. W. 16 filed the final report against the accused under the section referred to above.