JUDGMENT :

C. PRAVEEN KUMAR, J.

1. The Criminal Appeal No. 520 of 2015 is filed by Accused Nos. 3 and 4; Criminal Appeal No. 681 of 2015 is filed by Accused No. 2, while Criminal Appeal No. 229 of 2022 is filed by Accused No. 1. As these appeals are arising out of Judgment, dated 23.03.2015, in Sessions Case No. 297 of 2012, the same are disposed of by this Common Judgment.

2. Originally, Accused No. 1 to 4 were tried for the offences punishable under Section 302, 379, 201 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code [‘I.P.C.’]. By its Judgment, dated 23.03.2015, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the Appellants herein for the offence punishable under Sections 302 Indian Penal Code [‘I.P.C’] and sentenced them to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs. 10,000/- each in default to undergo simple imprisonment for six months each. They were further convicted for the offence punishable under Section 201 I.P.C. and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000/- each in default to undergo simple imprisonment for one month each. All the accused were further convicted under Section 379 I.P.C. and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for a period of three years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- each in default to undergo simple imprisonment for one month each. The substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently.

3. The facts, in issue, are as under:

(i) PW-3 is the brother and PW-4 is the wife of the deceased-Prasanna Kumar. The prosecution case is that, on 05.02.2011, the deceased boarded a Qualis vehicle bearing No. AP-31-X-1790 from Hyderabad to Kakinada and informed the same to PW-4. The deceased informed over phone to PW-4 that he along with five other persons, including the driver is travelling in the said vehicle. Thereafter, as PW-4 did not receive any phone call from the deceased, she telephoned to PW-3 and asked him to go over to Hyderabad and find out the whereabouts of the deceased and also informed to PW-3 that she received a phone call from the deceased stating that he was travelling in a Qualis vehicle along with five other persons.

(ii) On 07.02.2011, PW-3 went to the Police Station and lodged a report about the missing of deceased.

(iii) On 12.02.2011 at about 5.30 P.M. PW-2, the Village Servant of Sirivel Mandal, Allagdda Taluq, went to a Tea shop to have a tea. There, he heard people talking about foul smell emanating from a decomposed body near Sarva Narasimha Swamy Devalayam, Darga culvert. Immediately, he informed PW-1 [Village Revenue Officer] about the same. Thereafter, PW-1 and PW-2 went to the said place and saw the dead body under a culvert. Immediately, they proceeded to the Sirvel Police Station and lodged a report before PW-12 [Sub-Inspector of Police]. Ex.P1 is the report.

(iv) Basing on the Ex.P1 - report, PW-12 Sub-Inspector of Police, registered a case in Crime No. 16 of 2011 under Section 174 Cr.P.C. Ex.P8 is the F.I.R. Immediately, he visited the scene of offence and prepared a rough sketch, under Ex.P9. He then conducted inquest over the dead body of the deceased. Ex.P4 is the inquest. Since, the dead body could not be shifted from the scene of offence, PW-12 sent a requisition to Government Doctor for conducting Postmortem at the scene.

(v) PW-10, who was working as Assistant Professor in Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Kurnool Medical College, conducted autopsy over the dead body and issued Ex.P5 post-mortem report. According to him, the cause of death was due to hemorrhagic shock resulting from head injury and the approximate time of death was about 3 to 6 days prior to postmortem examination.

(vi) Since, the dead body remained unidentified, PW-12 [Sub-Inspector of Police] sent wire message to all the Police Stations apart from publishing a pamphlet and getting pasting it on the R.T.C. buses. He also seized clothes and shoes from the dead body of the deceased and also preserved femur bone of the deceased fo