KANDAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment of conviction and sentence passed against the appellant/accused by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No.3, Chennai made in S.C.No.26 of 2007 dated 19.07.2007. The appellant/accused was convicted and sentenced by the Trial judge u/s. 302 I.P.C to undergo life imprisonment.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution in brief would be as follows:- THE accused and the deceased Balan were living in platform. On 28.05.2006, at about 10.00 p.m in the night the accused came to the deceased Balan's place in the platform and had a wordy quarrel with him by saying that his wife had eloped from him and the deceased Balan was the reason and by saying so the accused had beaten the deceased Balan by pulling his shirt, fisting on his head, face and due to the attack caused by the accused the deceased Balan had fell with his back on the cement floor and hit his head and the accused had also throttled his neck and the witnesses who were present including P.W.1 had intervened and since the crowd gathered in that place the accused had fled away from the scene of occurrence. Since Balan was not having any external injuries, they left him there itself and went to their houses respectively and on the next day when P.W.1 came to the said platform he found that Balan was lying there and he thought that Balan was in a drunken stage and so he was lying there and nobody had noticed him and thereafter on 30.05.2006, when he went to the same place for selling flower he found that the deceased Balan was lying on the same condition and P.W.1 had approached him and asked him had he not gone for work and for that Balan could not speak properly and therefore P.W.1 and Krishnan had taken him and admitted him in the Government General Hospital. THEreafter on 30.05.2006, by 05.00 p.m Police enquired him and he gave a complaint to the Police and Police had registered the case u/s.341 and 307 I.P.C. THEreafter on 07.06.2006, by 01.30. p.m the said Balan died and the death intimation was given by the hospital authorities to the Inspector of Police and accordingly the F.I.R has been altered into 302 I.P.C and further investigation had been done and charge sheet has been filed.

(3.) P.W.4 would state that accused asked him about the pledging of jewels by the accused and for that P.W.4 told him about the disclosure made by the deceased Balan to his daughter Aparna (i.e) the wife of the accused. The wife of the accused was also examined as P.W.5 and she corroborated the evidence of P.W.4 who is her father. P.W.6 was the auto driver witnessed the investigator preparing the Observation Mahazar and Sketch at the scene of occurrence. Moreover the belongings of the deceased Balan like slippers, lungis, full hand shirts were seized from the scene of occurrence. They are marked as M.Os.1 to M.O.5. On the death of Balan on 07.06.2006, due to the injuries sustained by him the case was altered from sections 307 to 302 I.P.C and the report was filed by P.W.7.