KASTURI SUBBARAO Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH;REP

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, who was the sole accused in Sessions Case No.203 of 1998 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge at Visakhapatnam, was tried for the offences punishable under Sections 498-A, 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code. After detailed enquiry, the learned trial Judge acquitted the appellant for the offence punishable under Sections 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, but convicted him of the other charges i.e., 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life and also to pay a fine of Rs.5,000.00 in default to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for three months for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The accused was further sentenced to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for three years and also to pay a fine of Rs.2,000.00 in default to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of one month for the offence punishable under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The gravamen of the charge against the appellant was that on 20/05/1998 at about 2.00 P.M., he caused the death of his wife Anuradha by voluntarily throttling her neck for additional dowry. To screen away the evidence, he set fire to the body of the deceased by pouring kerosene.

(3.) The case of the prosecution, according to the legal evidence let in during the course of trial is as follows:-