T. PANDURANGADU Vs. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sole accused in Sessions Case No.132 of 2014 on the file of the learned Principal Sessions Judge, West Godavari at Eluru is the appellant. He was tried for the offences punishable under Ss. 302 and 379 I.P.C. for committing murder of one Kasigari Durga Bhavani (hereinafter, referred to as "deceased") by stabbing him over right side of her neck with an electrical tester and strangulating her with her chunni till her death and thereafter, committed theft of rold gold chain with two gold mangala sutrams and a hand bag containing two cell phones.

(2.) Vide judgment, dtd. 21/8/2015, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the accused for the offences punishable under Ss. 302 and 379 I.P.C., and accordingly, sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs.25,000.00, in default of payment of fine, to suffer simple imprisonment for a period of one year for the offence punishable under Sec. 302 I.P.C. and to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years and to pay fine of Rs.3,000.00, in default of payment of fine, to suffer simple imprisonment for a period of six months for the offence punishable under Sec. 379 I.P.C. Both the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

(3.) The facts in issue are as under:- P.W.5 is the husband of the deceased while P.W.6 is the mother of the deceased. P.W.7 is the sister of the deceased. The accused is a resident of Velagapalli Village of Ganapavaram Mandal. P.W.6, who is a widow, was running a kirana shop. She along with the deceased used to attend religious meetings at Guntur, as they got converted to Christianity and took Baptism during which period, the deceased developed acquaintance with the accused, who also used to attend religious meetings at Guntur. The accused was also talking with the deceased on phone. It is said that the deceased studied I Year Intermediate by staying in the house of the accused at Ganapavaram. It is said that while the deceased was studying I Year Intermediate by staying in the house of the accused, the accused took away one pair of gold ear studs and one pair of silver anklets from the deceased. When the same was informed to P.W.6, she called the accused over phone and questioned him as to why he took the gold ornaments. The accused stated that he was in financial trouble and he would return back the same after getting them released from pledge. The material on record show that the accused along with his mother requested P.W.8 - rickshaw puller went to the shop of P.W.13 - pawn broker to recommend pledging of gold ear studs and one pair of silver anklets as he was in need of money. It is said that P.W.8 along with the accused and his mother had gone to the shop of P.W.13 where they pledged the gold and silver items. This was sometime in the year 2008. The evidence on record also shows that the accused was in touch with the deceased and was talking to her on telephone and on one day, came to the house of P.W.6 and informed P.W.6 that he would like to marry her daughter for which, P.W.6 and her daughter refused because both of them belong to different castes. Later on, P.W.6 performed the marriage of the deceased with P.W.5. About three months after the marriage of the deceased, P.W.5 dropped the deceased at the house of P.W.6 on the eve of 'Atlathaddi'. The deceased stayed in the house of P.W.6 for about 15 days. On the date of incident, which was on 26/11/2012, the accused called the deceased on phone and requested her to come to Tanuku for taking back the gold and silver ornaments, which were taken by him while she was studying I Year Intermediate. Accordingly, at about 11.30 a.m., the deceased left the house to Tanuku but however, she did not return home on that night and on the next day morning, P.W.5 enquired P.W.6 about the whereabouts of the deceased. It is said that P.W.7, who is the daughter of P.W.6, was also informed about the deceased not returning home from Tanuku. On the evening of 27/11/2012, P.W.5 and other relatives came to the house of P.W.6 to enquire about the whereabouts of the deceased. On 27/11/2012, at about 8.30 or 8.45 a.m., while P.W.1 - V.R.O. was present in the house, he received a phone call from P.W.3 informing about a dead body lying on the agricultural path way near his fields. Immediately, he went to the scene of offence and noticed a female dead body with half saree (chunni) tied around her neck. She was wearing punjabi dress, which was in mustard colour with white flowers. He presented a report at Ananthapalli Police Station at 10.20 a.m. before P.W.20 - Sub Inspector of Police, Ananthapalli Police Station, who registered a case in Crime No.162 of 2012 of Ananthapalli Police Station for the offence punishable under Sec. 302 I.P.C. Basing on the said report, he issued express F.I.R. to all the concerned and informed about the registering of F.I.R. to the higher authorities over phone. Ex.P-13 is the original F.I.R. Further investigation in this case was taken up by P.W.21 - Inspector of Police, Tadepalligudem Circle, who on receipt of phone call from P.W.20, proceeded towards Ananthapalli Police Station, received a copy of the F.I.R. and then, sent a requisition to P.W.16 for holding inquest over the dead body. P.W.16 conducted inquest over the dead body in the presence of P.W.21 on 27/11/2012 between 1.00 p.m. and 4.00 p.m. Ex.P-3 is the Inquest Report. P.W.21 visited the scene of offence and in the presence of P.W.15, prepared an observation report of the scene. Ex.P-2 is the Scene Observation Report. At the scene, he seized M.Os.1 and 2, which are mustard coloured chunni and mustard coloured punjabi dress owned by the deceased. He also got prepared a rough sketch of the scene, which is marked as Ex.P-14. Ex.P-5 is the photographs of the scene of offence. On the same day, P.W.21 got published in all newspapers the photographs of the deceased for identification of the dead body. Intimation about the publication was furnished by P.W.7 to P.W.6, who on receipt of the said information, proceeded to Area Hospital, Tadepalligudem where the Circle Inspector of Police showed the dead body. The family members identified the body as that of the deceased. The dress owned by the deceased was also identified. It is said that the rold gold chain with gold mangala sutrams on the neck of the deceased was found missing. M.Os.1 and 2 are the articles identified by P.W.6 as that of the deceased. P.W.21 examined P.Ws.5 and 6 at the hospital and recorded their statements. Basing on the said statements, they suspected the accused as assailant in this case. On 7/12/2012, on credible information, P.W.21 along with his staff and P.W.18 went to the house of the accused situated at Velagapalli Village. On hearing the sound of the jeep, the accused tried to escape but however, the staff of the Police Department apprehended him and on interrogation, he disclosed his name as 'Tadepalli Pandurangadu @ Pandu'. On his arrest, a confessional statement was recorded, which was reduced into writing. Pursuant to the confession made by the accused, M.Os.5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 were recovered at the instance of the accused. The accused is said to have informed that he has pledged M.Os.3 and 4 with P.W.13 and that he would show if they follow him. Ex.P-9 is the relevant portion of the confessional statement of the accused. Pursuant to the confession made, the accused lead the police party to the shop of P.W.13 from where M.Os.3 and 4 were said to have been recovered, in the presence of P.W.18 and another. Ex.P-10 is the mediators' report for seizure of M.Os.3 and 4. From there, the accused lead them to the scene of offence where the police reconstructed the scene of offence and drafted a report there itself under Ex.P-11. Basing on the statement made by the accused, the Sec. of law was altered from Sec. 302 I.P.C. to Ss. 364, 379 and 302 I.P.C. Ex.P-15 is the alteration memo. The Investigating Officer claims to have examined P.W.9 on 9/12/2012. On 18/12/2012, he sent a requisition to P.W.19 - Principal Junior Civil Judge, Tadepalligudem for holding test identification parade and accordingly, test identification parade was held on 29/12/2012. After collecting all the necessary documents, a charge sheet came to be filed, which was taken on file as P.R.C.No.72 of 2013 on the file of the learned Additional Judicial Magistrate of First Class, Tadepalligudem.