RAJENDRAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant who hereinafter will be referred to as 'the accused' was tried before the learned Sessions Judge, East Thanjavur for an offence of murder on an allegation that at 5.30 P.M. on 1.6.1981, he cut Amirthalinga Pandithar with an aruval M.O.1 indiscriminately, as a result of which, the said Amirthalinga Pandithar died. To prove the charge against the accused, the prosecution, before the trial court, examined P.Ws.1 to 17 and marked Exs.P.1 to P.21 as well as M.Os. 1 to 9.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution as could be discerned from the oral and documentary evidence can be briefly summarised as follows: -

(3.) ON receipt of the information about the registration of the crime, P.W. 16, the Circle Inspector of Police who was in charge of Nannilam Circle took up investigation in the case and reached the scene of occurrence by 8.15 p.m. where he prepared the observation mahazar, Ex.P.7 and drew a rough sketch Ex.P.21. P.W.16 from near the dead body seized blood stained earth, M.O.7 and sample earth, M.O.8 under a Mahazar Ex.P.8 attested by P.W. 11 and another. He conducted inquest over the dead body of Amirthalinga Pandithar in the presence of Panchayatdars between 10.00 p.m. and 1.00 a.m. on 1/2.6.1981, during which he questioned and recorded the statements of P. Ws.1, 2 and 3. Ex.P.9 is the inquest report. After the inquest, he handed over the dead body with his requisition Ex.P2 to a constable for conducting autopsy on the dead body of Amirthalinga Pandithar.