PAPPU ALIAS PERUMAYEE Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) (Appeal under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the judgment dated 18.07.2007 made in S.C.No.19 of 2007 on the file of the Principal Sessions Judge, Namakkal.) This appeal arises out of the judgment made in S.C.No.19 of 2007 by the Principal Sessions Judge, Namakkal convicting the appellants/accused for an offence under Section 302 r/w 34 IPC., and sentencing them to undergo life imprisonment and also to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- each, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year each.

(2.) BRIEF facts of the prosecution case are as follows: (i) The deceased palaniappan was a mason, residing along with his second wife/the first accused/Pappu @ Perumayee separately at Vadakku Thottam at Kullappanaickanpatti, Mesthirikadu. The witness P.W.1 Paramasivam, the elder son of deceased Palaniappan, was the son of Athayee, who was the first wife of deceased Palaniappan, and he was residing at Athanoor, Ayeepalayam village with his family separately. The deceased Palaniappan was residing separately along with the first accused Perumayee and their son Selvaraj, who was born to the first accused at Vadakadu Thottam. (ii) The first accused Perumayee developed an illicit intimacy with second accused Muthu who used to visit the farm house of the Palaniappan frequently, and the deceased Palaniappan questioned the illegal act of the first accused and scolded her in this regard. Further the deceased Palaniappan expressed his intention to settle his landed property in favour of his first wife Athayee's son and for which, the accused Perumayee got annoyed and she had strong ill feeling towards the deceased Palaniappan. (iii) The first accused Perumayee came to Suriya Hospital on 18.09.2006 at about 4.15 P.M. evening and informed P.W.6 Gowrishankar that her son Selvaraj met with an accident and he was admitted in Government Hospital, Coimbatore and produced the sheet also. Then she took the P.W.6 Gowrishankar, the grandson of first wife Athayee to the bus stand Rasipuram at 4.30 P.M., evening and at that time the second accused Muthu came there and enquired the first accused. P.W.6 Gowrishankar, accused 1 & 2 joined together went to Coimbatore on the same day at 9.00 P.M. On enquiry in Coimbatore Government Hospital they learnt the said Selvaraj was not admitted. Further, they caught the bus and went to Erode early morning 3.00 A.M., then came to Rasipuram around at 4.00 A.M., and he left accused 1 and 2 at Rasipuram Bus Stand. After words, the accused 1 & 2 went to the house of the deceased Palaniappan at Vadakkuthottam in the early morning and he questioned the illicit act of accused 1 & 2 and in the course of quarrelling, the first accused beat the stone on his forehead and the second accused Muthu inflicted cut injuries on his head indiscriminately by the weapon Koduval M.O.9 and both of them allegedly committed murder of the deceased Palaniappan, and Palaniappan died of such multiple cut injuries at 7.30 A.M., on the way to Rasipuram Hospital on 19.09.2006.

(3.) THE learned counsel appearing for the appellants/accused contended that the learned Sessions Judge erred in believing the evidence of P.Ws.6 & 7 and the chain of circumstances alleged by the prosecution is nor complete to establish the guilt of the accused. THE learned counsel appearing for the appellants/accused would further submit that the evidence of P.W.7 and P.W.8 should not be believed since they were inimical towards A1.