P. PERIASAMY Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE revision Petitioner is the accused in S.C. No. 87 of 1994 on the file of the Principal Assistant Sessions Judge, Erode and the appellant in C.A. No. 62 of 1995 on the file of the Court of Sessions, Periyar District at Erode. The Petitioner was tried for offences under Sections 306 and 498 A of the Indian Penal Code. The learned trial Judge chose to acquit him of the offence under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code but sentenced him for the offence under Section 498 -A of the Indian Penal Code to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and imposed a fine amount of Rs. 1,000/ - carrying a default sentence. The appeal filed by him was also dismissed. Hence the present revision.

(2.) I heard Mr. V.K. Muthusamy, learned Senior Counsel, appearing for the revision Petitioner and Mr. R. Karthikeyan, learned Government Advocate on the criminal side for the Respondent. The learned Senior Counsel Mr. V.K. Muthusamy argued that the evidence let in by the prosecution do not establish the guilt of the accused at all and therefore the conviction of the accused is bad in law. The learned Senior Counsel would further submit that even according to the prosecution, the marriage between Saraswathi, the first deceased in this case and the accused took place about fifteen years before the date of death of the first deceased, and therefore it cannot be said that the accused did anything which is the immediate and proximate cause for Saraswathi to commit suicide along with her daughter and son and that the immediate cause on the previous night to the date on which the death occurred put forward by the prosecution is not established by the prosecution and therefore the entire version of the prosecution case has to be doubted. The learned Senior Counsel would also state that Ex.P.24, the letter stated to have been written by Saraswathi is not the letter written by her, but it is a concocted document brought about at the instance of P.W.1, who is the brother of the first deceased Saraswathi. The learned Senior Counsel also argued that the first deceased Saraswathi is proved to be a lady of grit and determination and was in a position to maintain herself and therefore the question of she being exposed to such amount of cruelty which drove her to commit suicide along with her children cannot be easily accepted. On the contrary, Mr. R. Karthikeyan, learned Government Advocate on the criminal side submitted that the evidence of P. Ws. 1 and 2 clinchingly establish the manner in which the accused was treating his wife and children and that the first deceased Saraswathi was subject to such amount of cruelty all these years by her husband, namely the accused, which ultimately resulted in frustration in her life and that is the cause why Saraswathi committed suicide along with her children.

(3.) THIS is a case of a tragedy resulting in the death of the mother and her two young children; one daughter aged thirteen and the other, a boy aged about 10, both going to school. The tragedy occurred at 5:45 A.M. on 10.6.1993. PW1 is the brother of Saraswathi, who is the wife of the accused. PW1 got information over phone from the accused that his wife and children are found dead in his house in the morning of 10.6.1993. PW1 arrived at the scene immediately and thereafter he lodged a complaint with the police which is marked as Ex.P1 in this case alleging that the death of his sister and her two children was directly attributed to the course of conduct adopted by the accused over a long period of years which made them to commit suicide. Thus the law was set in motion and ultimately a final report came to be filed. It is seen from Ex.P1 that the accused is addicted to liquor for over ten years. Though Saraswathi used to correct the accused in his habit of taking liquor, yet the accused always used to come home under the influence of alcohol and picked up quarrel with his wife and did not provide money to her for meeting both ends. Frustrated at die sustained conduct of the accused being addicted to liquor, Saraswathi committed suicide.