Judgment

VAIDIALINGAM, J.: - This appeal,by special leave, by the accused is against the judgment and order dated March 11, 1970 of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh confirming his conviction for an offence under Section 302, I. P. C, and the sentence of death passed for the said offence.

2. The appellant was charged of the offence of causing the death of his father-in-law Adepareddi by beating him with a battle axe on his head on the night of May 9, 1969 and also for an offence under Section 201, I. P. C, by digging a pit and burying the dead body and thus causing the evidence of murder to disappear. Though he was convicted also for the offence under Section 201, I. P. C. no separate sentence has been passed as he has been sentenced to death for the offence under Section 302, I. P. C.

3. The deceased Adepareddi was a ryot of Varagali owning five acres of land irrigated by pumpset. He was aged about 60 years and he was living in his village with his wife P. W. 3, aged about 40 years, two daughters, P. Ws. 4 and 5, and his two young sons. One K. Ramireddi, a cousin brother of the deceased was also living along with the family in the same house. P. W. 5, the eldest daughter of the deceased had been married to the appellant about 1 1/2 years prior to the incident and he was also staying with the deceased as his illatam son-in-law and helping the deceased in his agricultural operations. There were two servants P. Ws. 1 and 2, who were also staying in the house. P. W. 1 was looking after the cattle of the deceased and P. W. 2 was attending to cultivation under the direction and control of the deceased and the appellant. It may be mentioned that P. W. 1 belonged to the village of the appellant and he came over to the house of the deceased along with the appellant when he was married.

4. According to the prosecution the appellant was in illicit intimacy with his mother-in-law P. W. 3 and in consequence there were frequent quarrels between the appellant and his father-in-law, the deceased. After quarrelling, every time the deceased used to leave the house and stay elsewhere for a short time and later on return to the house. On May 9, 1969 one Kesareddi Adepareddi, a casteman of the deceased died in the village and the deceased was requested by his relations to come and light the funeral pyre. The deceased was incilned to agree to the request, but the appellant objected to the same. The deceased yielded to the appellant s protest and he merely attended the funeral of Kesareddi Adepareddi, and came back to the house. After taking food in the night at about 8 or 8.30 P.M., the deceased as usual, left his house to sleep in the field which was about 1 1/2 miles from the village. When the deceased was leaving the house, the appellant seems to have angrily demanded for payment of the price realised by the sale of groundnut and the deceased replied that he would go to another village, collect the money and give it to the appellant.

5. After the deceased left the house for his field, the appellant is stated to have asked P. W. 1 to accompany him to the field to kill his father-in-law. P. W. 1 refused to accompany him. The appellant went inside the house and came out with an axe and left the house with P. W. 2. The appellant, after going to the field, is stated to have given a blow on the head of the deceased with the axe and when P. W. 2 attempted to run away from the scene, he was brought back by the accused with the threat that he too will meet the same end. P. W. 2 came back and saw the appellant digging a pit and burying the body of the deceased. Both the appellant and P. W. 2 came back to the house sometime in the mid-night and put the axe inside the house.

6. P. W. 1 when he went to the field next morning to attend to the agricultural operations, he found blood near the cot where the deceased used to sleep and also saw a new wound in the field. He became suspicious and he asked the accused about the wound which was not there the previous day.