KAVUNDIAPPA GAUNDAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant, Kavundiappa Goundar who was charged under Section 302, I. P. C. was convicted under Section 304 (Part II) I. P. C. and sentenced to undergo Rule I. for two years by the Additional Sessions Judge, Coimbatore in Sessions Case No. 173 of 1966.

(2.) THE charge against him is that he committed the murder of one Nachimuthu Gounder by stabbing him with a knife at about 4-30 P. M. , on 31-7-1966 at Vellala-palayam.

(3.) THE prosecution case is briefly this: Deceased Nachimuthu Gounder was residing at Lekkapurampudur and one of his sisters Pavavee was married to the appellant. Another sister, Kannammal (P. W. 4) was married to one Athappan the son of the junior paternal uncle of the appellant. Athappan died about 1 or 11/2 months before the occurrence. The father-in-law and brother-in-law of P. W. 4 refused to give P. W. 4 the share of her husband's properties to which she was entitled. The appellant and Nachimuthu interceded on behalf of P. W. 4 and got her from her father-in-law 11/2 acres of land. P. W. 4 sold gold jewels of about 22 sovereigns in weight and also seven heads of cattle through the appellant and the deceased. From out of the sale proceeds, some debts due by P. W. 4's husband were discharged and in respect of the balance of amount, the deceased wanted that P. W. 4 should lend it to persons named by him. He also wanted that P. W. 4 should lease out her lands to him for a period of seven years. P. W. 4 refused to oblige the deceased saying that she intended doing personal cultivation of her lands. In respect of the cash that she had, she lent it on pronotes to persons named by the appellant. On this account there were misunderstandings between the deceased and the appellant. 3. On the day of occurrence namely 31-7-1966, at about 3 P. M. , P. W. 4 and one Kasthuri, daughter of the appellant were talking with P. W. 5 Pavayee in her house. At that time, the daughter of the deceased one Periammal came running to the house of P. W. 5 and informed P. W. 4 that the deceased was coming to Vellala-palayam in order to finish P. W. 4, the appellant and his wife. Within a few minutes thereafter, the deceased came to the house of the appellant abusing him and then began to pelt stones at the house of the appellant. The appellant came out of his house and asked the deceased not to pelt stones. P. W. 7 Karuppanna Goundar, a jutka-driver of Lakkapurampudur, who happened to come to Vella-palayam at that time for taking a passenger to Erode Hospital, saw the appellant and the deceased catching hold of each other and quarrelling on the road. P. W. 7 got down from his jutka, separated both of them and led away the deceased asking him as to why he should quarrel with his own brother-in-law.