Nagamma @ Nagarathna vs State of Karnataka

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2025 Supreme(SC) 1715

K. V. VISWANATHAN, K. VINOD CHANDRAN
Nagamma @ Nagarathna – Appellant
Versus
State of Karnataka – Respondent

Advocates appeared:
For the Appellant(s) : Mr. C.B. Gururaj, Adv. Mr. Prakash Ranjan Nayak, AOR
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Nishanth Patil, A.A.G. Mr. Sanchit Garga, AOR Mr. Arijit Dey, Adv. Mr. Awanish Gupta, Adv.

JUDGMENT :

K. VINOD CHANDRAN, J.

1. The default in repayment of a loan led to a crime, most foul, of murder, is the prosecution case. The allegation was that a police man, the 1st accused, took a loan from another police man, the deceased, who was killed by the wife, brother and brother-in-law of the former; at his instigation. The deceased, the driver of a Superintendent of Police made persistent demands for repayment of the loan. This led to A2, the wife of A1, calling the deceased to her home on the pretext of repaying the debt, on the night of 10.03.2006. At around 2am on the next day the victim was made immobile by throwing chili powder on his face and hacked to death with two choppers wielded by the accused. A2 then, after sunrise, went directly to the police station and confessed to the SHO about the crime and apprised him of the presence of the dead body in her house. The SHO deputed a police constable to make enquiries and later an inquest was done by PW-24 at the house of A2, after which the body was taken to the hospital.

2. Before the trial court, the prosecution examined 24 witnesses and marked 33 documents as also 16 material objects. The first accused examined himself