K ACHAMMA Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole accused in Sessions Case No. 57 of 1986 on the file of Additional Sessions Judge, Karimnagar is the appellant. She is a woman aged a,bout 60 years and a resident of Dommarivada in Karimnagar district. She was found guilty and convicted and sentenced to undergo R.I., for two years each under Sections 306, 201 of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 3 of Suppression of Immoral of Traffic in Women and Girls Act, three months under Section 202, I.P.C., and one year each under Sections 4 and 5 of Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act. AH the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is as follows: The accused is residing in Dommarivada of Karimnagar. P.W. 2 is her neighbour. P.W. 3 was another woman who was fostered by the accused and made her live a life of a prostitute and the accused used to take out of the earnings of P.W. 3. The accused was maintaining P.W 3 giving her food and clothing. P.W. 10 Nagamma another such prostitute used to come to the house of the accused. The accussed was taking money from male persons who came to her house and was sending P.W. 10 and another girl to those male persons for sexual enjoyrrent. One month prior to 2-8-1985 the accused brought Kumari, the deceased in this case, to her-house and made -her to live a life of prostitute. . The accused was not treating the deceased, P.W. 3 and P.W 10 well,and she used to beat them. The accused beat the deceased with rope. Kumari was not able to bear the scolding and abuses by the accused and as she was not willing to do prostitution, she poured kerosene on her on 2-8-1985 at about 7-00 P.M. and set fire to her clothes. The deceased came out of the house of the accused with flames. P.W. 4 G. Lachamma went to the house of the accused and saw the deceased who was burnt completly by flames. The accused did not take her to the hospital. At about 7-30 P.M. the accused went to the house of P.W. 1 a Medical Practitioner and asked him to come and see a serious case. P.W. 1 went to the house of the accussed and noticed the deceased with burns all over her body and the doctor noticed that the body was burnt upto 75% of her body. P.W. 1 told the accused that it was a hopeless case and advised the accused to take the deceased to Government hospital. The accused did not take her to the Government hospital and she gave her some sleeping pills and Kumari died on 3-8-1985. The accused called P.W. 5 and told him that a lady died in her house and asked him to dig a pit to bury her. P.W. 5 and another dug a pit in the burial ground. The dead body was wrapped and some people carried the dead body and buried it. Ten days later P.W. 5 and others informed P.W. 1 about the death of the deceased. Then P.W. 1 gave his complaint (o P.W. 11 the S.I. of Police. P.W. 11 registered the crime under Section 174, Cr. P. C., issued F.I. Rs. to all the concerned, took up investigation and examined P.Ws. 1 to 5 and 10. He visited Dommarivada. He gave requisition to the Executive Magistrate and in the presence of the doctory the dead body was exhumed. P.Ws. 8 and 9 conducted the postmortem and found peeling of the skin all over the body including face and the skull brain matter was absorbed. There was fracture of hyoid bone. But later it was found out that because of purification both the greater horns and hyoid bone have separated from the body but not due to any violence. After completion of investigation the charge sheet was laid.

(3.) The prosecution examined 11 witnesses in support of its case. When examined under Section 313, Cr.P.C., the accused denied the offence. She stated that the Police beat P.Ws. 3 and 10 and made them depose falsehood against her and that Kumari burnt herself by pouring kerosene in the house which is by the side of her house and that she did not burn herself in her house. The learned Additional Sessions Judge believed the evidence of P.Ws. 1, 3, 5 and 10 convicted and sentenced the accused as stated above.