DASARU VEERAIAH Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is preferred by the sole accused in S.C. No. 189 of 2001, who has been convicted for the offence under Section 302 IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution is that one Thotti Lachaiah S/o. Komaraiah R/o. Ramagundala was an organizer of CPI (ML) Phani Bagchi faction. On the day of the incident after taking dinner, he went to his agricultural fields to keep a vigil during night time for preventing attack on paddy fields by wild boars. His 11 year old son, who is staying in a social welfare residential school has been fetched by him the previous day from the school as the schools are closed for Dusserah holidays. Hence, he took his 11 year old son also to his agricultural fields for the night vigil. Further with a view to have a better vision of the entire field, a country made shaft, locally called as mancha, is erected in the agricultural fields. It is nothing but a raised platform. It is alleged that both the father and the son were lying on the mancha while the son covered himself with a blanket, the father was found to be awake and he was smoking a country made cigar. At around 12.00 in the night, the accused went to the agricultural field of the said Lachaiah and allegedly stabbed the said individual. It is also the case of the prosecution that the said Lachaiah has pleaded with the accused not to cause any harm to his son. It is the prosecution case that the accused has stabbed Lachaiah indiscriminately and as a result of hemorrhage followed by shock, he died. It is the case of the prosecution that the accused once again went up the manch and extracted a promise from the 11 year old son of Lachaiah that he should not inform anyone about the true and correct facts of the incident and on the other hand, should inform the villagers that several people called "annalu" (a colloquial reference to naxalites) have attacked his father. It is also the case of prosecution that by that time it started drizzling and hence, accused has covered the son of Lachaiah with a plastic sheet so that he can save himself form getting wet from the rain. But, however, due to the winds blowing across the fields the plastic sheet fell off and after a while son of Lachaiah got wet and hence got down from the manch and went to the fields of the neighbours where they also erected a similar manch, but which has a cover as well. He went and has woken up the wife and husband duo of his neighbouring field and tried to sleep on their manch for a while. It is quite sometime later that the neighbours have questioned him because of their sensing smell of blood emanating from the son of Lachaiah. It is at that stage, the said son of Lachaiah has narrated the true facts to the wife and husband duo of the neighbouring fields. Ultimately, he came back to the village and narrated to his mother as to the incident, at the day break. When his mother and went to the fields, they have found Lachaiah died lying in the agricultural fields. That is how PW.1, wife of the deceased, complained to the police and set the investigation into motion.

(3.) PER contra, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor has pointed out as to how the witnesses are trustworthy and as to how they were truthful in narration of the facts to the extent that they are aware of.