LOLAPU CHINNANNA Vs. STATE OF A P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant-accused preferred the present appeal aggrieved by the conviction recorded and the sentence imposed by judgment dated 26-05-1997 is Sessions Case No. 103 of 1996 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge, Adilabad.

(2.) The appellant-accused was charged with offences under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under Section 25(1) (a) of the Indian Arms Act in Crime No. 38 of 1994 of Oala Police Station.

(3.) The case of the prosecution in brief, is as hereunder: The deceased by name Muthavva was the kept mistress of the accused and she was married to one Yellanna and she had divorced him and subsequent thereto she developed illicit intimacy with appellant-accused who gave shelter to her by providing a house to her at Suryapur. The deceased also gave birth to a male child through the accused and subsequent thereto, accused began suspecting the fidelity of the deceased and started abusing her. On 24-09-1994 at about 11-00 p.m., the accused came to the deceased with country made single barrel 12 bore gun and began abusing her stating that she had betrayed him by carrying illicit intimacy with others also and aimed the gun at the deceased. P.W. 1 who was sleeping nearby woke up and went to rescue the deceased. The accused pushed her aside and opened fire against the deceased and due to the fire arm injuries the deceased died. On hearing the gun firing, P.Ws. 2 and 3 rushed to the spot and found the deceased lying in a pool of blood with fire arm injuries on her chest and meanwhile the accused ran away. On 25-09-1994 at 11.30 a.m. P.W. 1 reported the incident to Oala Police Station orally and it was reduced into writing and a case in Crime No. 38 of 1994 was registered under Sec. 302 IPC and Section 25(1) (a) of the Indian Arms Act. The Investigating Officer had taken up the investigation, visited the scene of offence, held the inquest over the dead body and also had drawn the rough sketch of the scene of offence. The witnesses were also examined by the Investigating Officer and the postmortem examination was conducted at Government Hospital, Bhainsa and opinion was given by the Medical Officer that the death was due to shock and haemorrhage due to fire arm injuries on vital organ of the body and the medical officer had taken out five pellets from the chest of the deceased. P.W. 11 arrested the accused on 30-09-1994 and on his confession before the panch witnesses, a single barrel 12 bore gun used by the accused in the commission of the offence in question had been recovered at the instance of the accused in the field of D. Gajjaram under the cover of panchanama. The Material Objects including five pellets had been sent to the Chemical examination in Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad. Sanction was also given by the District Collector to prosecute the accused under Section 25(1) (a) of the Indian Arms Act.