JUDGMENT :

C.Praveen Kumar, J.

1. Heard Sri G.Vijaya Saradhi, learned counsel for the appellant and Sri S.Dushyanth Reddy, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor for the State.

2. Sole accused in Sessions Case No.205 of 2013 on the file of the Court of Special Sessions Judge-cum-IV Additional District and Sessions Judge, Chittoor at Tirupati, is the appellant herein. He was tried for the offences punishable under Sections 498-A, 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 [For short ‘I.P.C’.] for causing the death of his wife Sandhya by subjecting her to cruelty on 25.10.2012 at Kothapalemmitta village, Srikalahasti Mandal.

3. Vide Judgment, dated 21.10.2015, the learned Sessions Judge, while acquitting the accused under Section 498-A of I.P.C, convicted him for the offences punishable under Section 302 and 201 I.P.C. Accordingly, he was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life for the offence punishable under Section 302 I.P.C and also sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years for the offence punishable under Section 201 I.P.C. The substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently.

4. The facts as culled out from the evidence of prosecution witnesses are as under:-

(i) P.W.1 is the father of the deceased, while D.W.1 is the mother of the deceased. The accused is the husband of the deceased. P.Ws.2 and 3 are related to the deceased and P.W.1. The marriage of the accused with the deceased took place on 25.10.2012 at Kothapalem village, Srikalahasti Mandal. At the time of marriage, P.W.1 claims to have presented M.Os.1 to 10. Both of them lead happy marital life for some time. It is said that about a week prior to the incident, both the accused and deceased came to the house of P.W.1. The accused left his wife in the house of P.W.1 and a week thereafter, he came to the house of P.W.1 and took his wife on his byke. On the way, P.W.1 called the accused over phone and informed that both of them met with an accident. Immediately, P.W.1 and D.W.1 along with relatives went to Government Hospital, where they found the deceased dead.

(ii) Law was set into motion by lodging a report, which led to registration of a case in Crime No.78 of 2012 of B.N.Kandriga police station. Ex.P15 is the First Information Report. On receipt of information about registration of the crime, P.W.13-Circle Inspector of Police collected the F.I.R and started investigating the matter. As the death of the deceased was within seven years of marriage, he sent a requisition to Mandal Executive Magistrate, B.N.Kandriga, who he conducted inquest over the dead body of the deceased in the presence of panchayatdars. Ex.P13 is the Inquest Report. At the time of inquest, he examined P.Ws.1 to 5 and recorded the statements. After completing the inquest, he sent the body for Post Mortem examination.

(iii) P.W.12, who worked as Civil Assistant Surgeon in Area Hospital, Srikalahasti, conducted Post Mortem over the body of the deceased and opined the cause of death of deceased due to ‘Cardio-respiratory arrest due to pressure over the air passages due to throttling, homicidal could not be ruled out.’ Ex.P14 is the Post Mortem Certificate.

(iv) P.W.13-Inspector of Police, B.N.Kandriga Mandal, who continued his investigation, left the Area hospital along with Sub-Inspector of Police, B.N.Kandriga, proceeded to the scene of offence and in the presence of P.W.10, seized M.Os.11 to 13 under Ex.P6. On 21.12.2012, while P.W.13 was present in the police station, P.W.8 appeared before him along with the accused and presented a written report stating that the accused admitted his guilt before him. Ex.P17 is the written report prepared by P.W.8. In the presence of P.W.10, P.W.13 arrested the accused and interrogated him. During interrogation, the accused confessed about the offence.

(v) In pursuance of confession, the accused led the police party to the groundnut fields of T.V.Subbarao to show the place where the gold ornaments were hidden. The same were seized un