Allowed

Peddi Narasimha Reddy , Bapu Reddy, v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Telangana HC3 Jul 2012CRLA/967/2008

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court allowed the criminal appeal and acquitted the appellant of murder and concealing evidence charges. The Court held that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the deceased accompanied the appellant to the alleged place of crime, as the sole eyewitness account was disbelieved by the trial court, breaking the chain of circumstances.

What did the court decide?

The appeal was allowed; the conviction and sentence were set aside; the appellant was acquitted and set at liberty.

Peddi Narasimha Reddy , Bapu Reddy, Vs The… — Murder and Culpable Homicide | Telangana HC (2012)

¶1

THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD

¶2

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

¶3

TUESDAY, THE THIRD DAY OF JULY TWO THOUSAND AND TWELVE

¶4

PRESENT THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE N.V.RAMANA AND THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P.DURGA PRASAD

¶5

CRIMINAL APPEAL No.967 of 2008

¶6

Between:

¶7

Peddi Narasimha Reddy @ Bapu Reddy

¶8

. .Appellant-

¶9

Accused No.1 And State of A.P. represented by its Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Hyderabad.

¶10

.. RespondentComplainant

¶11

HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE N.V.RAMANA AND HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE P.DURGA PRASAD CRIMINAL APPEAL No.967 of 2008

¶12

JUDGMENT:

¶13

(Per. Hon’ble Sri Justice N.V.Ramana)

¶14

This appeal is directed against the conviction and sentence passed in S.C.No.562 of 2007 by the I- Additional Sessions Judge, Karimnagar, on 11.03.2008.

¶15

The appellant herein is accused No.1 and he along with four others were prosecuted for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 302 and 201 read with Section 149 of I.P.C.

¶16

According to the prosecution, A-1 is a native of Challur village and he is having agricultural lands in Mallareddipalli village. There is a close friendship between the deceased Sandi Sadakar Reddy and A-1 and that A-1 used to visit the house of the deceased now and then and took him on his personal works and also used to help the deceased in his agricultural works. A-1 is having illegal contacts with A-5. The deceased is having illegal contacts with the wife of A-2 and he used to go with A-1 to the house of A-5 whenever A-1 goes and he also developed sore eye on A-5 and wanted to cohabitate with A-5 either by hook or crook and that he used to tease A-5, for which she complained to A-1 about the mischievous

¶17

activities of the deceased. Thereupon, A-1 hatched a plan along with A-2 to A-4 to do away with the life of the deceased. On 24.06.2006 at about 9.30 P.M. A-1 went to the house of the deceased and called him for agricultural work, but the deceased refused to go along with him as he was also having agricultural work. Again A-1 requested the deceased to come into the village for filling fuel to his bike and accordingly they went into the village and thereafter they went to the liquor belt shop of P.W.4 and consumed two bottles of Beer and the same was noticed by P.W.8. Subsequently, A-1 took the deceased to the house of A-5, by enticing him to provide a chance to have sex with A-5 and when they reached near the land of P.W.6, all the accused pounced upon the deceased, A-1 to A-3 beat him with hands and when the deceased raised hue and cry, A-2 and A-4 tied his hands and then A-1 made the deceased on the ground and throttled the deceased while A-2 to A-4 held him firmly, as a result of which the deceased fell unconscious. Thereafter, A-1 to A-5 threw the deceased into the Well of P.W.6 in order to conceal the facts. On the next day, P.W.1 went in search of the deceased and on enquiry A-1 informed that he had already dropped the deceased on the last night. Thereafter, on 25.06.2006, P.W.1 lodged a written complaint before P.W.15-Sub Inspector of Police, Veenavanka Police Station, who in turn registered a case in Crime No.72 of 2006 under Section 174 of Cr.P.C. and

¶18

took up investigation and during the course of investigation, he visited the scene of offence, examined and recorded the statements of the witnesses, held inquest over the dead body of the deceased in the presence of P.W.10 and others, got photographed the dead body of the deceased by P.W.7, sent the dead body to Government hospital, Veenavanka and after receipt of opinion of the doctor that the cause of death of the deceased was due to throttling, he altered the section of law to 302 of I.P.C. Thereafter, P.W.13-Inspector of Police, Jammikunta, took up investigation, he arrested the accused, recorded the confession statement of A-1 about the commission of offence along with A-2 to A-5, seized cotton towel and Kawasaki Boxer motor-cycle in the presence of mediators and after completion of investigation, laid charge sheet against the accused for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 302 and 201 read with Section 149 of I.P.C.

¶19

The I-Additional Sessions Judge has framed the charges under Sections 147, 302 and 201 read with section 149 of I.P.C. against all the accused and the accused pleaded not guilty for the said charges.

¶20

The prosecution, in order to establish the said charges against the accused, examined P.Ws.1 to 15 and got marked Exs.P1 to P16 and M.Os.1 and 2. In defence, no oral evidence was adduced, but Exs.D1 to D3 were marked.

¶21

The I-Additional Sessions Judge, by taking into consideration of the said oral and documentary evidence, found A-1 guilty for the offences punishable under Section 302 and 201 of I.P.C., and accordingly convicted and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- in default to suffer simple imprisonment for three months for the offence under Section 302 of I.P.C. and further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/-, in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for one month for the offence under Section 201 of I.P.C. Both the sentences ordered to be run concurrently. However, the Additional Sessions Judge found A-2 to A-5 not guilty for the offences under Sections 147, 302 and 201 read with Section 149 of I.P.C. and acquitted them for the said charges.

¶22

Aggrieved by the conviction and sentence, the present appeal is filed by Accused No.1.

¶23

Learned Counsel for the appellant-A1 has pleaded that there is no eye witness to the incident and the circumstantial witnesses examined by the prosecution does not establish that the accused has caused the death of the deceased. He further pleaded that since A-2 to A-5 were acquitted by the trial Court disbelieving the evidence of P.W.9, the present appeallnt-A1 is also entitled to be acquitted on the same footing.

¶24

Learned Additional Public Prosecutor, on the other

¶25

hand, pleaded that the trial Court has rightly convicted and sentenced A-1 for the offences under Sections 302 and 201 of I.P.C. and the said findings recorded by the trial Court do not warrant any interference by this Court.

¶26

Now the point that arises for consideration is - whether the prosecution could establish the charges framed under Sections 302 and 201 of I.P.C. against the appellant-A1 beyond all reasonable doubt?

¶27

According to the prosecution, the motive for the commission of the offence is that A-1 was having illicit intimacy with A-5 and the deceased used to go with A-1 to the house of A-5 whenever A-1 goes and the deceased also had a desire to cohabitate with A-5 and he used to tease her and the same was complained by her to A-1 and that A-1 hatched a plan along with A-2 to A-5 to do away with the life of the deceased and accordingly he caused the death of the deceased by calling him to the house of A-5.

¶28

None of the witnesses examined by the prosecution spoke about the illicit intimacy between A-1 and A-5 and also with regard to the deceased developing a desire to have sexual intercourse with A-5. Thus, the prosecution failed to establish the motive for the accused to cause the death of the deceased.

¶29

The prosecution has relied upon the circumstantial evidence of P.Ws.1 to 5, 8 and 9. P.W.1 is the mother, P.W.2 is the father and P.W.3 is the brother of the

¶30

deceased. According to P.W.1, the mother of the deceased, about 1 ½ years back on 24.06.2006 at 9 P.M. A1 came to her house on a motorcycle and called her deceased son asking him to attend his agriculture work, on the next day morning. When her son refused for the said proposal he asked the deceased to follow him for filling up the petrol in his bike and took her son along with him and he did not return back to home. P.W.1 further stated that P.W.8 informed her that A-1 and her deceased son went to Brandy shop of P.W.4 and consumed Beer last night and when she found A-1 in the bazaar, she enquired about her son and on that he informed that he dropped her son in the last night itself and on suspicion against A-1, she went in search of her son in the agricultural Wells, but she could not find her son. Therefore, she went to the police station and lodged Ex.P1-report. P.W.1 further stated that A-1 was in the company of A-2 to A-5 and killed her deceased son and threw the dead body in the agricultural Well of P.W.6.

¶31

P.W.2, the father of the deceased, and P.W.3, the brother of the deceased, also came to know about the deceased going with A-1 on that previous night through P.W.1. Therefore, according to the prosecution, P.W.1 has seen the deceased going along with A-1 on that previous night and that he did not return back to the house.

¶32

The other evidence relied upon by the prosecution is

¶33

the evidence of P.Ws.4 and 8 to show that the deceased was in the company of A-1 on that night. P.W.4 is a toddy tapper and according to him, on 24.06.2006 at 9.45 P.M. A-1 and deceased came to his house and consumed two beers and went away on the bike of A-1. P.W.8 is a School van driver and also T.V. Cable repairer and according to him, on 24.06.2006 one boy came to him and complained that T.V is not functioning and then he went to the house of the said person and saw A-1 and deceased consuming drinks in the house of P.W.4. The other witness examined by the prosecution is P.W.9, who is a resident of Mallareddipalli village, and according to him, on 25.06.2006 at 10 P.M. while he stood at the corner of one Karre Shankaraiah’s house as his tractor did not return from the fields and at that time he found A-3 andA-5 talking with each other by the side of house of said Shankaraiah. He also saw A-1 going along with the deceased on his bike towards the house of A-5 and that A-2 and A-5 also going towards the house of A-5. He further deposed that on the next day morning P.W.1 reported that her deceased son did not return to the house as he was taken by A-1 in the last night and that he informed P.W.1 that he found A-1 and deceased on the motorcycle of A-1 and advised P.W.1 to enquire with A-1.

¶34

Therefore, from the above said evidence, the prosecution could establish that the deceased was going along with A-1 on the night of 24.06.2006 from his house

¶35

and thereafter they consumed beer in the house of P.W.4 and that P.W.9 has seen A-1 and the deceased going towards the house of A-5.

¶36

According to P.W.2, the father of the deceased, on the day of incident in the early hours his wife woke him up and informed that A-1 took their son along with him and he did not return and on that he went to his field in search of his son and on seeing A-1 in their village he enquired about the whereabouts of his son and on that A-1 informed him that he dropped the deceased near to their house itself. Thereafter, P.W.2 approached the Sarpanch of Peddi Mallareddy village, who called for A-1 and enquired about the whereabouts of the deceased, but A-1 maintained the same version and on the same day he went to the police station along with his wife-P.W.1, where P.W.1 lodged a report to the police. He further stated that when they were returning from the police station, the villagers informed them about the presence of dead body of the deceased in the agricultural Well of P.W.6 and that they found the dead body of the deceased in the said Well. The finding of the dead body of the deceased in the Well of P.W.6 was stated by P.W.5, who removed the dead body of the deceased from the Well, and also P.W.6, who is the owner of the said Well. After recovery of the dead body of the deceased, P.W.15-Sub Inspector of Police, Veenavanka, conducted inquest and sent the dead body of the deceased for post mortem examination.

¶37

P.W.12-Doctor, who conducted autopsy, has found four injuries and opined that the cause of death is due to cardio respiratory failure due to throttling.

¶38

Thus, from the above evidence, the prosecution could establish that the death of the deceased is homicidal. To connect the accused with the commission of offence, the prosecution has mainly relied upon the evidence of P.W.9, who has seen the deceased and A-1 going to the house of A-5 on that night and A-2 and A-4 also going towards the house of A-5. The trial Court has disbelieved the evidence of P.W.9 with regard to A-2 to A- 4 going to the house of A-5 and thereby acquitted them for the charges framed against them. The trial Court has observed that if really P.W.9 has seen A-2 to A-4 going to the house of A-5, nothing prevented him to inform the said fact to the police immediately on the same day on 25.06.2006 and held that no credence can be given to his statement which was recorded on 09.07.2006 after lapse of time and thereby disbelieved the involvement of A-2 to A-5 in the commission of offence. The same witness (P.W.9) has also stated with regard to A-1 and the deceased going to the house of A-5. If the said evidence of P.W.9 is disbelieved with regard to A-2 to A-4 going to the house of A-5, his evidence with regard to A-1 and the deceased going to the house of A-5 is also to be disbelieved. If the evidence of P.W.9 is disbelieved, there is no other material to show that the deceased and A-1

¶39

had gone to the house of A-5.

¶40

The trial Court has also observed that A-1 after making the deceased to take drinks, throttled his neck in the surrounding fields existing near the agricultural Well situated on the way to his village and threw him into the said Well to screen the evidence. Since the incident was occurred in the mid night hours, nothing will be visible or audible to anybody if anything happened near the said agricultural Well and thereby held that the evidence on record clearly and conclusively proved that the deceased was last seen in the company of A-1 only at the time of incident and he is solely responsible for the death of the deceased and thus the prosecution has clearly established all the chain of events to connect him with the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of I.P.C. The aforesaid finding recorded by the trial Court is not based on any evidence available on record. The prosecution could establish from the above circumstantial evidence of P.Ws.1, 4 and 8 that the deceased had gone along with A-1 on the night of 24.06.2006 and thereafter they consumed beer in the house of P.W.4, which was witnessed by P.W.8 on that night. But, there is no evidence to show what has happened subsequently. According to P.Ws.1 and 2, when they enquired with A-1, he informed that he has dropped the deceased on the last day night itself near the corner of their house. But according to the prosecution, on the night of incident A-1,

¶41

after consuming Beer with the deceased, A1 took him to the house of A-5, where he lured the deceased to provide a chance to have sex with A-5 and that A-2 to A-5, who were gathered there, pounced on the deceased, A-1 to A-3 beat him with hands and while A-2 to A-4 caught hold of him, A-1 throttled the neck of the deceased and threw him into the Well of P.W.6. But, there is no evidence to establish the factum of deceased and A-1 going to the house of A-5 since the evidence of P.W.9 is not trustworthy. Thus, the prosecution has failed to establish the link that the deceased and A-1 had gone to the house of A-5 and thereafter his dead body was thrown into the Well of P.W.6. Thus, the prosecution has failed to establish that the appellant-A-1 alone is responsible for causing the death of the deceased even though the death of the deceased was homicidal. Hence, the prosecution has failed to prove the charges framed under Sections 302 and 201 of I.P.C. against the appellant-A-1 beyond all reasonable doubt.

¶42

In the result, the Criminal Appeal is allowed. The conviction and sentence passed by the I-Additional Sessions Judge, Karimnagar, against the AppellantAccused No.1 for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of I.P.C, in Sessions Case No.562 of 2007 dated 11.03.2008, is hereby set aside and he is acquitted of the said offences and he shall be set at liberty forthwith, if he is not otherwise required in any other case. The fine

¶43

amount, if any, paid by the appellant-A1 shall be refunded to him.

¶44

________________________ JUSTICE N.V.RAMANA

¶45

____________________________ JUSTICE P.DURGA PRASAD 03.07.2012 Gsn

Peddi Narasimha Reddy , Bapu Reddy, v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Peddi Narasimha Reddy , Bapu Reddy, v. The State of Andhra Pradesh

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

Similar cases

D.Nagesh Yadav Vs The Commissioner of Police

Satteti Esanna, , Sattolla Yesaiah, Vs The State of Andhra Pradesh

Kunkala Mahesh Vs The State of Andhra Pradesh

Vanapamula Srinivasachary, Vs The State of Andhra Pradesh

Madapa Papaiah, Vs The State of A.P.

Kukkamudi Johnson, Vs The State of Andhra Pradesh