Judgment :-

A.K. Sikri, J.

1. The petitioner is convicted for the offences punishable under Section 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the trial court. For offence under Section 302 IPC, he is sentenced to undergo life imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs.2,000/-. For committing offence under Section 201 IPC, the petitioner is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and also to pay a fine of Rs.500/-. Both the sentences are ordered to be run concurrently. The petitioner appealed to the High Court challenging the conviction. However, the High Court has dismissed said appeal maintaining the conviction and sentence of the petitioner vide impugned judgment dated 12th January 2010. Not satisfied and undeterred, present Special Leave Petition is filed questioning the validity of the conviction, as indicted above.

2. The charge against the petitioner was of murdering a boy named Madhusudhan (hereinafter referred to as ‘deceased’) aged about 12 years who was studying in a Boarding School at Bellur, Karnataka. His mother was one Smt.Sujatha (PW6) who is the wife of PW9. It appears that because of strained relations developed between Sujatha and her husband, her