VADIVELU Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Of accused 1 to 4, who faced trial for various offences in Sessions Case No. 85 of 1981 on the file of Court of Sessions, Trichy, accused 1 and 4 were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life for the offence under S.302 read with S.34, I.P.C. while accused 2 and 3 were acquitted of all the offences in respect of which they stood charged, and accused 1 and 4 were acquitted in respect of other charges. Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, accused 1 alone preferred appeal. While hearing, the appeal, we entertained a doubt as respects the correctness of the finding given by the Court below against accused 4. Therefore, suo motu revision is taken up on his behalf so as to see that no prejudice is caused to the cause of justice.

(2.) Accused 1 and 4 are the residents of Thavittupatti, within the jurisdiction of Tharaiyur police station. Accused 2 to 4 are the sons of accused 1, Palaniyandi (since deceased) and accused 1 are brothers. P.Ws. 1 and 2 are the sons of the deceased. The deceased and his sons, P.Ws. 1 and 2, who were away at Malayasia for quite sometime returned to India in the year 1970 once and for all with all their earnings they had in the foreign soil. Accused 1 demanded from the deceased a share in his earnings to which course, the deceased was not amenable. Due to this accused 1 also refused to give to the deceased a share in the family properties. Consequently, the deceased filed a suit in sub-Court. Trichy for partition. Thereafter want of cordial relationship between the two families came to prevail. The civil proceedings got terminated in favour of the deceased in giving him 1/3rd share in the lands and other properties of the family.

(3.) On 22-11-1960 at about 6.00 or 6.30 a. m., the deceased P. Ws. 1 and 2 went to the lands taking with them the baling apparatus und their bulls for irrigating the lands P.Ws. 3 and 4, neighbouring land owners likewise were available in their lands for the purpose of irrigating the fields. While the deceased and P.Ws. 1 and 2 were making necessary arrangements for baling out water from the well, accused 1 to 4 emerged there and objected to the drawing of the water from the well. A wordy altercation arose between the accused on the one hand and the deceased and P.Ws. 1 and 2 on the other. The wordy altercation led to a scuffle resulting in injuries being caused to the deceased P.Ws. 1 and 2 and accused 2 and 4. Accused ran away from there.