(1) The appellant (Kondidena Venkata Naga dufga Prasad @ Prasad) who is the sole accused before the VIII Additional Sessions judge (Fast Track Court), Vijayawada is the appellant herein. He was tried forthe charges under Sections 302, 451 and 380 of IPC and was convicted by the learned Additional sessions Judge for all the charges.

(2) In respect of conviction for the offence under Section 302 of IPC, the appellant was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. In respect of conviction for the offences under sections 451 and 380 of IPC, he was further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years and also to pay fine of rs. 5,000/- under each count. All the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

Challenging the said order of conviction and sentence, the appellant preferred this appeal.

(3) The prosecution case in a nutshell is as follows: on the intervening night of 10/11. 06. 2002 at about 1. 30 a. m. LW-3, Gurkha (Dhan bahadur) informed PW-1 (Rakesh Kumar Jain), a resident of Shivalayam street, Vijayawada city, that he noticed pawn broker shop of the deceased without locks, the doors were kept partly opened and there was no response when he knocked the doors. On that PW-1 went to the shop along with LW-3, found the lock of the main door missing, he entered into the shop and found that there was no electricity, thereafter he, with the help of torchlight available with LW-3 found Anil Kumar Jain hereinafter called 'the deceased' who is no other than his cousin lying in a pool of blood with multiple injuries. He found the racks of iron safe lying pell-mell on the floor and thereby came to know that some unknown offenders committed murder of the deceased and had stolen away the gold and silver articles. Incorporating the aforesaid facts, he lodged a report with pw-21, the Dy. S. I. of Police I-Town Police station, Vijayawada city and also stating therein that the details of the gold and silver articles will be furnished after the return of the father of the deceased from Rajasthan.

(4) On the strength of the said report, pw-21 registered a case in Crime No. 586 of 2002 of Vijayawada I Town Crime police station and PW-25, the Inspector of Police, CCS-I vijayawada city took up investigation. Soon after knowing about F. I. R. issued in this case, he visited the scene of offence, seized the day books, a cell phone, a fifty rupee note and ten rupee note which were stained with blood from the scene of offence, found the dead body of the deceased lying in a pool of blood, held inquest over the dead body of the deceased, and then dispatched the same for post mortem examination.

During the course of investigation, on credible information, PW-21, the Dy. S. I. of police arrested the appellant on 13. 06. 2002 at 1230 hours near his house at Undavalli centre in the presence of PWs. 17 and 18 and interrogated him. The appellant apart from admitting about the commission of the offence made a disclosure statementto the effect that if they follow him, he would hand over the stolen articles and also the axe. Accordingly, he led them to his tenanted premises of which pw-7 (Guntur Sambasivarao) is the owner situate at Patamatalanka. He at about 3. 00 p. m. produced the stolen properties and a zip bag containing the articles. The said articles m. O. 1 and the axe, M. O. 3 were recovered under a cover of mahazar by PW-21 in the presence of PWs. 17 and 18. The entire articles of stolen property is weighing 4. 247 kgs. gold and 493 grams of silver worth rs. 21,40,000/ -. PW-21 also seized a gold chain which is also one of the stolen articles and also M. O. 2, the maruthi car of the appellant bearing No. AP-16-AD-2737underthe cover of a mahazar in the presence of the same mediators.

(5) SUBSEQUENTLY, during the course of further investigation, PW-25, Inspector of police, CCSI, Vijayawada city on a requisition got the test identification parade of the appellant conducted by PW-22, the Magistrate on 27. 07. 2002. He a