CHILLA RAMBABU Vs. THE STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By judgment dated 26.08.2010 in Sessions Case No.76 of 2009, the learned Special Judge for trial of cases under The SCs and STs (POA) Act cum - Additional District & Sessions Judge, Vizianagaram, convicted A1 under Section 302 IPC for the murder of Pitta Papayamma and her husband, Pitta Appala Reddy. A1 was also held guilty of the charge under Section 449 IPC. For his conviction under Section 302 IPC, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/ - or undergo simple imprisonment for one month, in default thereof. For the charge under Section 449 IPC, he was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 5 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/ - or suffer simple imprisonment for one month, in default thereof. A1s wife, A2, was acquitted of the charges under Sections 302 and 449 IPC. She was however convicted of the lesser charge under Section 448 IPC and sentenced to simple imprisonment for one month and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/ - or undergo simple imprisonment for one month, in default thereof. Aggrieved by his conviction and sentence, A1 is in appeal under Section 374(2) CrPC.

(2.) The case of the prosecution before the Sessions Court: The Sub -Inspector of Police, Bhogapuram (P.W.17), received a phone message from Gudivada Village at 9:00 PM on 08.11.2008 about the death of Pitta Papayamma. He, along with his staff, rushed to the place of occurrence, Chella Street of Gudivada Village, at 9:45 PM. There, P.W.17 received Ex.P1 report from Pitta Nagireddy (P.W.1). P.W.1 stated therein that he is working as an Office Boy at HDFC Bank at Visakhapatnam and that Pitta Papayamma and Pitta Appala Reddy were his parents. He stated that since his childhood, his parents and A1 used to say that his marriage would be performed with Aruna (L.W.13), the daughter of A1. P.W.1 stated that he came to know that Aruna was habituated to bad things and this fact was also known to his parents. He stated that since six months, A1 used to come to their house and ask his parents to perform his marriage with Aruna but his parents were not agreeable. A1 threatened them that he would see their end. On 08.11.2008 at 7:00 PM, P.W.1 stated that while he was on duty at HDFC Bank at Visakhapatnam, Chilla Ramu (P.W.5), belonging to his village, telephoned him and informed him that at about 6:50 PM, A1 came to their house with a knife and asked whether his marriage would be performed with Aruna and when his mother said that they were not willing, he quarreled with his parents and said that he would perform the marriage of his daughter with P.W.1 even by killing them and stabbed his mother with the knife on the left side of her chest due to which she fell to the ground and when his father intervened, A1 stabbed him in his stomach. P.W.1 stated that he immediately rushed to the village and found his mother dead on the road next to his house with a bleeding injury on her chest and as his father had received a stab injury on his stomach, he was shifted to the hospital by ambulance. P.W.1 asserted that A1 had attacked his parents as he had not married his daughter and killed his mother by stabbing her with a knife and with the intention of killing his father also; he stabbed him with a knife.

(3.) P.W.17 thereupon registered Crime No.149 of 2008 under Sections 302 and 307 IPC. Ex.P15 is the FIR. He sent a copy of the FIR to the Circle Inspector of Police, Bhogapuram Circle (P.W.18), for investigation. P.W.18 received Ex.P15 FIR on 08.11.2008. He, along with staff members, came to Gudivada Village but as it was late at night, he did not commence investigation at that hour. He posted a constable to guard the dead body at the scene and visited Vijetha Hospital, Visakhapatnam. However, he could not record the statement of Pitta Appala Reddy as he was unconscious. On 09.11.2008, P.W.18 secured the presence of mediators, Chilla Appalaramireddy (L.W.16) and Gidugu Kameswara Rao (P.W.11), and inspected the scene of the offence. He prepared the scene observation report (Ex.P6) and a rough sketch of the scene (Ex.P16). He also got the scene photographed by a private photographer, Patnana Naga Raju (P.W.16). P.W.18 seized the blood stained earth and controlled earth at the scene of the offence under cover of the observation report (Ex.P6). He also examined P.Ws.1 to 4, Jami Pydichitti (L.W.3) and others and recorded their statements. He secured panchas, Appalaramireddy (L.W.16), Gidugu Kameswara Rao (P.W.11),