IN RE: CHINNAPAIYAN ALIAS ARUMUGHAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANT Chinnapaiyan alias Arumugham has been convicted under Sections 379 and 302, Indian Penal Code, for having committed theft of a silver waist -cord from the possession of the female child Rajeswari alias Nageswari, aged about 5 years, and caused the death of the said child in the course of the same transaction, by dashing her against a big stone at about 9 a.m., on 3rd October, 1967 at Jagir Ammapalayam village, and sentenced to R.I. for six months on the first charge and to death, subject to confirmation by this Court, on the second charge. The sentence of imprisonment was ordered to merge with the capital sentence. The appellant is the brothers' son of P.W. 1, Ayithal. The deceased child Rajeswari was the daughter of P.W. 8, Ganesan, the son of P.W. 1. On the morning of 3rd October, 1967, the appellant approached his aunt, P.W. 1, and asked her for a rupee saying that he was feeling giddy as he had not taken food. P.W. 1 told him that she had no money and offered to give him food. But the appellant did not want food and went and sat near the well at a distance of 30 or 40 marks. P.W. 3, Thangaraju, aged 12 years, P.W. 4 Selvaraju, aged 13 years, and other boys were playing near the well. The deceased child Rajeswari was standing nearby. The appellant caught hold of the child, and snatched the silver waist -cord worn by it and when the child cried he dashed it on the stone nearby. P.W. 1, her daughter P.W. 2, Govidammal, the boys P.Ws. 3 and 4, P.W. 5, Karuppa Chetti, living at a distance of 50 feet from the well and P.W. 6 Arunachalam, who was then going along the road, claim to have witnessed the occurrence. In spite of their crying aloud, the appellant dashed the child against the stone a second time and left the place. Just after he passed P.W. 6, the latter took a cycle, which was being pushed along the road by one Manickam, and proceeded on it, with Manickam on the carrier, to catch hold of the appellant. The cycle driven by P.W. 6 dashed against the appellant and this resulted in the appellant, P.W. 6, and Manickam falling on the ground. The appellant sustained minor injuries, but he escaped. He went to the Police Station, shortly after P.W. 1 gave the complaint Exhibit P -1. The appellant was arrested with his blood -stained dhoti. The appellant is alleged to have made a statement about the silver waist -cord, but no recovery was made in pursuance of the same. P.W. 2, Govindammal, took the child to the Mill Hospital, but the Doctor there found that the child was dead. It was only thereafter P.W. 1 gave the complaint Exhibit P -1, in this case.

(2.) P .W. 14, Dr. Vijayal, conducted post -mortem on the body of the child Rajeswari and she found a laceration on the right side of the chin, and abrasion on the right side of the chest, a group of abrasions above the right chest, an abrasion on the right chest below the axilla, an abrasion just above that injury and a minute abrasion on the left knee -cap. The doctor reserved her opinion as to the cause of death and sent the viscera for chemical analysis and she gave her final opinion that the deceased child would appear to have died due to shock on account of the injuries to the abdominal wall and chest.

(3.) THE appellant was produced before the Sub -Magistrate, P.W. 13, Thaiyanayagam, for his judicial confession being recorded. P.W. 13 gave the necessary warnings and time for reflection and after satisfying himself that the appellant wanted to make a voluntary statement, recorded the statement Exhibit P -13. In this judicial confessions the appellant has stated that on the date of occurrence, he went to beat his aunt's son, P.W. 8, Ganesan, as he was unable to bear the troubles given by him, that. P.W. 8 was not in his house, that the child Rajeswari, daughter of' P.W. 8, spat on him and showed her left leg against him, that he lifted the child catching hold of its legs and dashed it out of anger and that immediately after dashing the child he went straight to the Police Station.