In criminal cases, reliance solely on testimony from an interested witness without corroboration may not be sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

JUDGMENT :

B.R. Gavai, J.

1. This appeal challenges the judgment and order dated 31st March 2022, passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Criminal Appeal No. 34 of 2019, wherein the High Court dismissed the appeal preferred by accused No. 1, appellant herein, against the judgment and order of conviction dated 20th December 2018, passed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Hosur (hereinafter referred to as ‘trial court’), in S. C. No. 7 of 2007, for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 341 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘IPC’), sentencing him to undergo life imprisonment.

2. The case of the prosecution in a nut shell is as follows:

2.1. One Rajappa (the deceased) along with all other accused persons, including the appellant herein, hail from Oozhiyalam village in Krishnagiri district. It is pertinent to note that the deceased and the accused persons belong to different communities. Radha (PW3), wife of Rajappa, was the president of the local Outreach Women Self Help Group.

2.2. A portion of land in Oozhiyalam village was purchased by the aforesaid Self Help Group. To build a compound wall around the said land, a contract for building the same was given to the people hailing from the deceased’s community. Such an act inflamed tensions between the two communities and several quarrels ensued, one of which led to criminal cases being registered against both the parties in the Bagalur Police Station. Both the parties were facing prosecution in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Hosur.

2.3. While the situation stood thus, Rajappa, on 14th September 2004 at around 10 AM, left his home on his motorcycle along with his elder brother Narayanappa (PW1) to depose before the Court of the Judicial Magistrate, Hosur. On their way to Court, accused Nos. 1 to 5 waylaid them near a check post, quickly sprinkled chili powder on the face of Rajappa and hacked him to death. It is specifically alleged that the present appellant threw chili powder on Rajappa and subsequently used his sickle to deliver a blow on the left side of Rajappa’s head. After committing the crime, all the accused went back to the village and pelted stones at the house of Rajappa while loudly proclaiming that they had finished Rajappa off, and that other members of Rajappa’s family would meet the same fate too. In the meanwhile, Narayanappa(PW1), who had escaped from the place of occurrence, ran back to the village and informed Radha about the attack on Rajappa. Thereafter, they along with others, returned to the place of occurrence. In the meanwhile, the son of Koopaliappa, who is Rajappa’s brother, rushed to the Bagalur Police Station to lodge a complaint, whereas Koopaliappa (PW4) himself rushed to the check post where he found his brother Rajappa dead.

2.4 Thereafter, on the basis of the statement given by PW1 to Rajsekhar (PW11), the Village Administrative Officer, which was treated as a complaint, a case being Crime No. 251 of 2004 was registered at HUDCO Police Station on the same day, i.e. 14th September 2004, at around 1 PM, for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 341 and 302 of the IPC, against five accused persons, including accused No. 1Nagaraja Reddy, the appellant herein. Muthamizh Mudalvan (PW16), the Investigating Officer (IO), prepared a mahazar report and, thereafter, conducted an inquest over the dead body of Rajappa. The dead body of Rajappa was then sent to Government Hospital, Hosur, where an autopsy was performed and the cause of death was determined to be injury to a vital organ, i.e. the brain. The IO, thereafter, arrested accused Nos. 2 to 5, with the date of their arrest being shown as 22nd September 2004. On the very next day, i.e. 23rd September 2004, the appellant herein surrendered before the Judicial Magistrate Krishnagiri and, on 1st October 2004, he was taken into police custody.

2.5 During the course of investigation, the role of accused Nos. 6 to 13 came to the fore and they too were arrested, on