Judgment :-

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal is directed against the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Criminal Appeal No.1083/2007 dated 05.11.2009. By the impugned judgment and order, the High Court, after re-appreciating the entire evidence on record, has confirmed the Order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Pondicherry in S.C.No.99 of 1997 dated 29.04.1999, by which the appellant-accused was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (for short "the IPC") and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life.

3. 3. The deceased (Gangammal) was the wife of appellant-accused. It is the case of the prosecution that the accused was an alcoholic, and habitually beating his wife after picking up a quarrel with her for silly reasons. He also didn't reside under the same roof with her, and only occasionally visited her. Gangammal was eking her livelihood by working as a domestic servant. At the time of the incident, Gangammal and the accused had a son and a daughter.

4. It appears that on the previous night of the incident, the accused severely beat Gangammal as he doubted her fidelity. On 13.08.1997, around 6.45 a.m., the accused attack