MUTHUPRAKASH ALIAS PRAKASH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) (Criminal appeal preferred under Sec.374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the judgment of the Principal Sessions Judge, Thiruvallur, made in S.C.No.107 of 2006 dated 28.8.2009.) This appeal challenges a judgment of the Principal Sessions Division, Thiruvallur, made in S.C.No.107 of 2006 whereby the appellants five in number, along with another arrayed as A-1, stood charged under Sections 148, 341 and 302 read with 149 IPC, tried, found guilty as per the charges and awarded one year Rigorous Imprisonment under Sec.148 read with 149 IPC, three months Rigorous Imprisonment under Sec.341 read with 149 IPC and life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs.1000/- and default sentence under Sec.302 read with 149 IPC.

(2.) SHORT facts necessary for the disposal of this appeal can be stated as follows: (a) The appellants/A-2 to A-6, A-1 who died pending trial, and also the deceased Ponmani belonged to Gandhi Nagar, Chennai. P.W.1 is the sister's son of the deceased. P.W.2 is the wife and P.Ws.3, 5 and 7 are the sisters of the deceased, while P.W.4 is the daughter, and P.W.9 is the mother of the deceased. They were all residents of the same place. A few days prior to the occurrence, there was a wordy altercation between A-1 and the deceased, and a complaint was given by A-1 to the respondent police station, and the same was treated as a petition and was pending enquiry. (b) On the date of occurrence that was 8.3.2003, at about 8.15 P.M., the deceased was sitting in a chair in front of the house. At that time, P.W.1 reached the house from work. P.Ws.1 to 5, 7 and 9 were all present. At that time, all the accused persons came in three motorbikes, marked as M.Os.3, 4 and 5 respectively, and they were all armed with deadly weapons. It was A-2 who pushed Ponmani down, and when the deceased fell down, all of them surrounded him. It was A-3 who attacked him with an aruval on the shoulder, and A-4 attacked him on the left side of the neck. A-5 and A-6 cut him on different parts of the body. The same was witnessed by all these eyewitnesses. When there was a distressing cry, all the accused persons left in the respective motorbikes in which they came. (c) P.W.18, the brother of the deceased, took the severely injured Ponmani to the Government General Hospital where P.W.28 was the Doctor, who on medical examination, declared him dead. The accident register copy is marked as Ex.P15. On receiving the message that Ponmani died, P.W.1 immediately rushed to the respondent police station and gave Ex.P1, the complaint, on the strength of which P.W.33, the Sub Inspector of Police, who was on duty at that time, registered a case in Crime No.141 of 2003 under Sections 147, 148 and 302 of IPC. The printed FIR, Ex.P21, was despatched to the Court. (d) P.W.35, the Inspector of Police of that Circle, on receipt of the copy of the FIR, took up investigation in the morning hours of 9.3.2003, proceeded to the scene of occurrence, made an inspection and prepared an observation mahazar, Ex.P3, and also a rough sketch, Ex.P24. He recovered material objects from the place of occurrence. Then he went to the mortuary, conducted inquest on the dead body of Ponmani in the presence of witnesses and panchayatdars and prepared an inquest report, Ex.P25. Thereafter, he gave a requisition to the hospital authorities for conduct of autopsy. (e) P.W.34, the Tutor in Forensic Medicine, Madras Medical College, on receipt of the said requisition, conducted autopsy on the dead body of Ponmani and has noticed the following external injuries: "1)Raddish brown abrasion 7x0.5cm over front of left shoulder. 2)Incised wound 13x0.3cm x skin deep 2cm above injury No.1. 3)Oblique incised 4x1x0.3cm situated below the neck 1cm away from supra sternal notch on left side. 4)Oblique incised wound 15x0.5cm x skin deep over left side of face cutting the cartilage of ear at the level of upper one-third and lower one-third of left ear exposing the underlying cartilage. 5)Oblique chop wound 16x1cm x bone deep involving left frontal, parietal region of scalp with anterior end 3cm from midline and posterior end in the midline. On opening the scalp, there is underlying cut in the bone 16cm long with depressed fracture in the center 2x0.5cm involving the left frontal and left parietal bone. Dura shows cut 8cm long in the left parietal region. On opening the dura there is a corresponding cut in the brain in the parietal lobe 6x0.5x1cm. 6)Oblique chop wound 11cm long in back of left shoulder 11x1cm x bone deep. On dissection there is a cut in the underlying muscles. 7)Oblique chop wound 12x1cm x bone deep seen over top of left shoulder 5cm from the tip of left shoulder with the previous injury bisecting left posteriorly at the distance of 4cm from the posterior end. 8)Oblique incised wound 10x1cm x muscle deep over front of left shoulder joint with the tailing of downwards and inwards touching the previous injury at its anterior end. 9)Oblique incised wound 6x1x1.5cm over the back of right shoulder joint 12cm from the midline with the tailing of 6cm directed outwards and downwards. 10)Oblique incised wound 10cm long bevelling of skin x muscle deep seen over back of neck on left side. 11)Laceration 3x2cm x skin deep above the injury No.10. 12)Oblique chop wound 11x5cm x bone deep over outer aspect of left knee joint with tailing of upwards and inwards. 13)Reddish brown abrasion 11x0.5cm over outer aspect of left buttock. 14)Reddish brown abrasion 11x0.5cm over left side of abdomen extending from umbilicus upwards. 15)Oblique incised wound 8x0.5cm x bone deep over left side of front of neck 6cm above supra sternal notch, 10cm from left mastoid process. On dissection the underlying muscles are found severed. On further dissection, carotid sheet is found cut with the severance of carotid artery, jugular vein and phrenic nerve. On further dissection, trachea is found severed at the level of thyroid cartilage. On further dissection, there is a nick in the body of 4th Cervical Vertebra. 16)Incised wound 3x0.5cm x skin deep over outer aspect of left elbow joint. 17)Incised wound 3x0.5cm x skin deep on the inner aspect of right elbow joint." The Doctor has issued a postmortem certificate, Ex.P23, with his opinion that the deceased would appear to have died of shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries. (f) Pending investigation, the Investigator arrested A-1, A-2, A-3, A-4 and A-6 on 9.3.2003, in the presence of P.Ws.22 and 23. They volunteered to give confessional statements. The admissible parts of the confessional statements are marked as Exs.P26, P28, P30, P32, P33 and P34 respectively. Pursuant to the same, they produced M.Os.9, 10, 11, 12 and 13, aruval and vettukathi respectively, which were recovered under respective mahazars. They were sent for judicial remand. (g) A-5 was arrested on 23.3.2003, when he came forward to give a confessional statement. The same was recorded, and the admissible part is marked as Ex.P19, pursuant to which he produced M.Os.3, 4 and 5, motorcycles, which were recovered under a cover of mahazar. He also produced a knife, M.O.6, which was recovered under a cover of mahazar. (h) Pursuant to the requisition made, all the material objects recovered from the place of occurrence and from the dead body, and the weapons of crime recovered from the accused on production pursuant to the confessional statements, were actually subjected to chemical analysis by the Forensic Sciences Department, which brought forth Ex.P43, the chemical analyst's report, and Exs.P42 and P44, the serologist's reports. P.W.36, the Inspector of Police, took up further investigation and on completion of the same, filed the final report.

(3.) ADDED further the learned Counsel that even as per the prosecution case, there was a wordy altercation a few days prior to the occurrence, between A-1 and the deceased, and A-1 gave a complaint before the respondent police, and the same was also pending enquiry that under the circumstances, the motive even as per the prosecution was only attributed to A-1 as against the deceased that all other accused had no motive at all and that it would be quite clear that they have been added as per the desire of the prosecution witnesses.