MAHENDRA SINGH Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The two accused in Sessions Case No. 3 of 1955 on the file of the Sessions Judge of Visakhapatnam have filed two separate appeals. They were charged under Sec. 302 read with Section 34 I. P. C. for the murder of one Miss E. E. Cox and also under Section 497 I. P. C. The second charge was split up under rule 156 of the Criminal Rules of Practice and its trial was stayed under Section 240, Criminal Procedure Code. The Sessions Judge who tried the accused on the first charge found them guilty as charged and gave them both life-sentences. One Miss. E. E. Cox who was born in the United Kingdom was employed as a nurse in the Church of England, Zenana Mission Hospital at Bholapur, East Pakistan. She wanted to spend her vacation of six weeks at Coonoor and for that purpose left Bholapur on the 13th of August 1954. She reached Calcutta on the 14th where she stayed with her friend Miss Birt examined as P. W. 3 in the case at St. Monica's house. Between the 16th and 20th she was with another friend of hers Miss Burthy Howghton (P. W. 2) at Nazarath. On the 20th she went back to P. W. 3, received through her the holiday allowance in 48 Indian currency notes each of ten rupee denomination issued by the Bank on that day and placed them in her hand-bag. She then boarded the Mail train that evening with her belongings for Madras. She was the sole occupant of a second-class coupe for ladies in a through upper-class bogey No. 1912 B. On the morning of the 21st, Miss Cox ordered for breakfast at Nowpada station and this was supplied to her in a tray at Srikakulam by P. W. 6, the Dining-car bearer, and the tray was taken back at Vizianagaram. She paid P. W. 6 Rs. 2-13-0 towards the charges for breakfast at Waltair and also three annas as 'bakshi'. The Mail train reached Waltair station at 10-40 a. m. At that station she got down from the train, wen to a fruit-stall in which P. W. 7 was sitting and purchased some fruits nd sweets. While on the platform she was seen by the Reservation Inspector, P. W. 10, who wanted to check her ticket. Miss Cox said that it was in the compartment and she would show it later on. While the train was halting there, P. W. 8, meals canvasser, took an order from her for lunch (consisting of chicken and bread) to be supplied at Tuni.

(2.) The train reached Anakapalle station at 12-9 p. m. There P. W. 8 who was also travelling in the train wrote in chalk words 'C. B.' on the compartment occupied by Miss Cox, to indicate to the servers at Tuni easily that she required bread and chicken for her lunch. At Anakapalle, P. W. 16, a newspaper vendor offered to sell her a newspaper. He saw her through the open window of the compartment. He stood near her window and bawled out "Do you want newspaper" and she waved her right hand in token of her not wanting it. The train left Anakapalle at about 12-14 p. m. and reached Tuni at 1-41 p. m. No sooner had the train halted at Tuni railway station, than P.W.. 34 the Butler in the Refreshment room carried lunch to the II Class compartment occupied by Miss Cox which was more or less in the middle of the train. As the door was closed and the shutters of the window were down, he tapped at the door, but there was no response and the door was not opened. This was seen by P. W. 9 the Guard of the train. P. W. 34 then requested P. W. 35 a boy, engaged in the Refreshment room to clean vessels, to go under the train to the off-side of the compartment and inform the occupant that the meal was brought. The boy who accordingly went to the other side found the door slightly ajar. He got on to the foot-board and pushed the door to find a pool of blood on the floor of the compartment. He came back to the platform and cried out that there was blood in the carriage. P. W. 34 immediately informed P. W. 36 the Assistant Station Master of it. The latter sent word to P. W. 9 who hurried to the spot. Then the Assistant Station Master (P. W. 36) the Guard (P. W. 9) and the Reservation Inspector (P. W. 10) went to the off-side of the compartment, found Miss Cox in a more or less sitting posture in the middle of the berth facing the engine. The hold-all on which she was sitting and one of the pillows were covering the upper part of the body and face and were all blood-stained. Her hands were tied behind her with a cord and a false set of teeth were lying down blood-stained. There was a leather box open, and some cloths and papers protruding under the berth. A leather hand-bag which had only an upper-flap but no locking arrangement was found open. Lots of things including boots and papers were thrown pell mell and her feet were bare. No one was allowed to enter the compartment and it was shut and locked. The bogey was detached, the passengers in the other compartments having been requested to vacate and occupy some other carriage, and it was left near the siding guarded by the railway police, P. Ws. 39 and 40. Meanwhile, a report was sent by the Station authorities (Ex. P-19) to the Sub-Inspector of Police, Tuni. This was received by the Headconstable (P. W. 37) in the absence of the Sub Inspector. The Head Constable arrived there at about 3 p. m. and held an inquest over the body between 3-45 p. m. and 6 p. m. It is the prosecution case that Miss Cox died of homicidal violence and the crime is attributed to the two appellants. It appears from the evidence of P. Ws. 12 and 13, a Marwadi Hotel-keeper and his brother-in-law respectively, that the two accused used to go to Anakapalle frequently for one year before the occurrence. On many occasions, they messed together in the hotel and A-1 was paying for both of them. When they became indebted to P. Ws. 12 and 13 in a sum of Rs. 20/- P. W. 13 who was then managing the hotel demanded of the accused for the payment of this sum. The two accused pledged two full pants and a bush-coat promising to pay the money and redeem them. It was only after the lapse of nearly three months i. e. five or six days before the offence that A-l went to him, paid the money and took back the clothes. It is thus seen that the appellants were in close association with each other for some time past. Their association prior to the relevant date was also not denied by their counsel here. Now we shall trace the movements of the appellants on the day of occurrence. While the Madras bound Mail Train was halting at the Waltair Station on the 21st, the accused were seen walking on the platform by P. Ws. 14 and 15, two unlicensed coolies. They had known the two accused for nearly two years as they used to see them on the platform frequently getting down and into the trains.

(3.) The two accused used to have their legs and hands massaged occasionally when they stayed at the Waltair station by these coolies. That day, when the Mail from Calcutta arrived there, the witnesses were on the railway platform and saw both the appellants on the platform-the Hindustani man (referring to A-l) wearing a kaki pant and a bush-coat and the other one (referring to A-2) wearing a white trouser and a white shirt. The Hindustani man had a cloth hand-bag in his hand. After the Mail train left Waltair, they did not see them there.