STATE Vs. VEERAPANDY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petition has been filed by the State to cancel the bail granted to the respondents herein, in Crl. M. P. No. 1281 of 1978 by the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, Ramanathapuram at Madurai by his order dated 10-11-1978.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution is that the respondents forming themselves into an unlawful assembly on the night of 5-9-1978 at Vetrilaiurani having armed themselves with aruvals and vel sticks waylaid the deceased Perumal and murdered him. The murder of Perumal, according to the prosecution, is a gruesome one. It is the case of the prosecution that the accused cut and removed the head of the deceased and also one arm and one leg and the penis and not contented with that they took the headless trunk, cut the limbs and threw the same into an old well. It is further stated that in order to suppress the gruesome crime that they have committed, they took the head of the deceased and buried it near A-l's father's grave. The accused having committed the murder absconded themselves and subsequently surrendered before the Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Koilpatti, on 6-10-1978.

(3.) ON 10-11-1978 the accused (respondents herein) filed a petition before the Sessions Court, Ramanathapuram for enlarging themselves on bail. The learned Sessions Judge at that time was on camp and, therefore, the bail petition was heard by the Assistant Sessions Judge, Ramanathapuram. It is the contention of the Public Prosecutor appearing before me, that the granting of bail to the respondents herein, was opposed in view of the gruesome murder committed by them and in spite of the objections by the Public Prosecutor, Madurai, the accused, who are the respondents herein, were released on bail. The order passed by the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, is as follows Public Prosecutor opposes bail. The petitioners are in custody for the past one month, after surrender before the court. The son of the deceased is stated to be the only eye witness to the occurrence. So, no question of tampering with his evidence would arise. In the said circumstances, I consider that the petitioners may be enlarged on conditional bail. Therefore, I direct the release of the petitioners on bail on their executing a bond for Rs. 5000 each with two sureties each for a like sum, to the satisfaction of the Judicial Second Class Magistrate, Sattur. The petitioners shall remain at Madurai until further orders and report them selves before Judicial Second Class Magistrate No. 3 at Madurai daily at 11 a. m. It is contended before me by the learned Public Prosecutor that the respondents here" in have committed a heinous crime in a most brutal manner as seen from the F. I. R. a copy of which is filed along with this petition. The deceased has only a son, who is the only eye witness to the murder and who is aged 16 years, who was with his father (deceased) when the murder has taken place. The widow of the deceased is also alive and the only eye witness who is the son of the deceased, is with his mother Lakshmi.