JUDGMENT :

Abhay S. Oka, J.

FACTUAL ASPECTS

1. The appellant was convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, ‘IPC’). He was sentenced to undergo life imprisonment for the offence punishable under Section 302 and rigorous imprisonment for seven years for the offence punishable under Section 201, IPC. Sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The appeal preferred by the appellant has been dismissed by the High Court by the impugned judgment.

2. The deceased Shanthi was the wife of the appellant. According to the prosecution case, the appellant suspected that the deceased had illicit intimacy with one Peethambaram. On 29th May 2006 at about 9:00 p.m., the appellant took the deceased to the bank of Ponnai River and assaulted her with a stick. The said Shanthi succumbed to the injuries. He buried the dead body in the same place. PW Nos.3 and 4 are the parents of the deceased who were enquiring with the appellant about the whereabouts of the deceased. However, the appellant told them that the deceased was missing.

3. The prosecution relied upon the extra-judicial confession made by the appellant before PW-1 Ganesan Perumal in the pre