MANNARU MURUGAN Vs. STATE OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant is the accused in S.C. No. 511 of 1999 on the file of learned V Additional Sessions Judge, Tirupathi. He was charged on two counts - firstly, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (for short 'IPC') for having committed the murder, on 19-03-1999 after 8-30 p.m., of his wife - Smt. J.K. Rani by throttling and beating her with a stone on the head: and secondly, and in the course of same transaction, as in charge No. 1, of committing theft of one Yellow thread with Bottu, two gold gundlu, four gold Nan-kolailu, two pairs of gold ear studs, one pair of silver leg chains and a pair of silver leg rings from the body of the deceased and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 404 IPC.

(2.) The accused entered the plea of denial and was put on trial. The prosecution examined eighteen (18) witnesses and got marked Exs.P-1 to P-19. The Sessions Court convicted the accused of both the charges and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 100-00 and in default thereof, suffer Simple Imprisonment for a period of one month for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC; and also undergo sentence of six (6) months Rigorous Imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs. 200-00 and in default thereof, suffer Simple Imprisonment for a period of one month for the offence punishable under Section 404 IPC, both the sentences to run concurrently.

(3.) The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the accused, a native of Chinnalur village of Nagari Mandal, Chittoor district, working as Loom Supervisor in the Power Loom Industry of one J.P. Natarajan situate at K. V.P.R. Pet, Nagari Mandal, was married to the deceased Smt. J.K. Rani, who was working in Tex India, Pudupet, Nagari Mandal, on 07-07-1995 at Vinayaka Temple, Tiruthani. Theirs was an inter-caste marriage. A few months after the marriage, the accused deserted the deceased on the ground that she belongs to a lower caste. A few months thereafter, the accused joined the deceased after a compromise. After some time, he suspected the fidelity of the deceased on the ground that she was moving with other male persons and, therefore, decided to commit her murder.