BANOTH LAXMAN Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole accused in Sessions Case No. 252 of 1988 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge, Warangal was convicted u/s 302 of the Indian Penal Code for causing the death of Anugam Sadanandam, a resident of Rayanigudem village, Mulug Mandal, hereinafter referred to as 'the deceased' by knocking his head gainst an iron railing on the night of 4th February, 1987 and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life.

(2.) It was alleged that after committing murder of the deceased, the accused had thrown away the deadbody of the deceased into the Kakatiya canal after relieving the deceased of cash in a sum of Rs. 2,000/- and after removing his clothes and that the accused had hidden the clothes of the deceased and an empty bottle of brandy in the bushes near Kakatiya canal. The accused was, therefore, tried for offences punishable under Sections 201 and 404 of the Indian Penal Code also. He was, however, acquitted of both the charges by the learned Additional Sessions Judge.

(3.) On the morning of 3-8-1987, the deceased left his hou e and his deadbody was found floating in the Kakatiya canal by P.W. 1, sarpanch of Gundla Singaram village on the evening of 5-8-1987. Immediately he sent a report, Ex. P. 1 to the Sub-Inspector of Police, Kakatiya University Campus, P.W. 12 On receipt of Ex. P-1. P.W. 12 registered it under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and rushed to the Kakatiya canal and noticed the deadbody of the deceased floating in the canal. He got the deadbody removed from the canal. The deadbody of the deceased was brought to the M.G.M. Government Hospital, Warangal for the purpose of postmortem examination. On 6-8-1987, P.W. 11 Assistant Professor of Forensic Medicine, Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal conducted postmortem examination over the deadbody of the deceased. Ex. P. 9 is the post-mortem certificate issued by him. In his opinion, the deceased died of fracture of the base of the skull and the age of the death of the deceased was 36 to 60 hours prior to the autopsy. As the deadbody of the deceased was not claimed by anybody, a photographer was summoned and a photograph of the dead body of the deceased, Ex. P 2 was taken. As the deceased did not return home till 9-8-1987 P.W 3, his wife met her father-in-law and narrated to him her tale of woe. On 10-8-87, P.W. 2 read a news item published in the 'Udayam' Telugu daily dated 9-8-87 that an unidentified deadbody was kept in the mortuary of the M G.M. Government Hospital, Warangal. P.W. 2 left for the hospital, but the deadbody was found unfit for identification. He, however, identified the deadbody as that of the deceased from the photograph, Ex. P. 2. P.W. 3 was also summoned and she too identified the deadbody as that of her husband from Ex. P. 2. P.W. 13 arrested the accused on 31-8-1987 at 12-00 noon at Mulug cross-roads and in pursuance of a confessional statement made by him in the presence of P.W. 9, M.Os. 1 to 3 a trouser, a hand-kerchief and a bush shirt and M.O. 4, an empty Mc Dowell brandy bottle were recovered from the bushes situate near the Kakatiya canal.