IMPORTANT POINT
Extrajudicial confessions require corroboration and cannot solely establish guilt without reliable evidence.

JUDGMENT :

K. SREENIVASA REDDY, J.

1. This Criminal Appeal by the appellant-sole accused is directed against the judgment, dated 26.04.2016, in Sessions Case No. 73 of 2015 on the file of the VI Additional District and Sessions Judge, Srikakulam at Sompeta whereby the appellant was found guilty of the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘IPC’) and accordingly he was convicted of the said offence and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs.2,000/- in default to suffer simple imprisonment for a period of six months. The learned Sessions Judge found the appellant/accused not guilty of the charge under Section 201 IPC and accordingly acquitted him of the said charge.

2. The substance of the charges framed against the appellant/sole accused are that on 31.11.2011 at about 4.00 PM at Badagam village, Kanchili mandal, he did commit murder of Udaya Gowd @ Ujwal Gowd (hereinafter referred to, as ‘the deceased’) by chopping neck and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 302 IPC, and having knowledge that the accused committed an offence punishable under Section 302 IPC, the accused caused certain evidence of the offence to disappear with an intention of screening the body of the deceased, dug out a pit and buried the dead body, and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 201 IPC.

3. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is as follows:

The accused and the material prosecution witnesses are residents of Bodagam village, Kanchili mandal. Accused is brother-in-law by courtesy of PW-4. PW-5 is daughter of PW-4. PW-6 is brother of the deceased. PW-7 is wife of the deceased. The deceased is son of paternal uncle of PW-8. 10 years prior to the incident, wife of the accused left him and the accused was staying alone in his house. The accused had vegetable creepers around his house. The deceased was moving in the surroundings of Bodagam Hill area by driving his cattle for grazing for the last two or three months prior to the date of the incident. He used to leave his cows for grazing in the morning and secure them in the evening. The accused had a dispute with the deceased as the latter drove his cattle into agricultural field and caused damage to the crops. On 30.11.2013 afternoon, the deceased drove his cattle into agricultural field of the accused and caused damage to standing crop like turmeric, maize, vegetable creepers, etc. At about 4.00 PM, the accused came back to the house by driving back his goats from the hill and witnessed that cattle of the deceased grazing his crops. When the accused asked the deceased about it, the deceased adamantly replied to show where his cattle grazed the crops. Unable to tolerate the same, the accused chopped the deceased with a sharp knife at the neck on both sides and as a result, the deceased heaped down and died on the spot. After hearing shouting, PW-4 went out of her house and saw the accused chopping neck of the deceased with knife, and as she got scared, she went into the house. Later, with an intention of causing disappearance of the evidence, the accused dragged the dead body of the deceased to nearby Tamarind tree, dug out a pit and buried the body. At about 8.00 PM, the deceased disclosed about commission of the offence to PW-3. PW-3 informed the same to PW-2 over phone. Thereafter, PW-2 contacted PW-1, who was the Sarpanch of Timilangi village, Kanchili mandal. On 01.12.2013 at about 1.00 PM, PWs. 2 and 3 went along with the accused to house of PW-1, where the accused gave confessional statement Ex.P1.

On 01.12.2013, PW-14-Sub Inspector of Police, Kanchili police station received statement of the accused from PW-1 along with Ex.P2-report, and basing on the same, registered a case in crime No. 135 of 2013 for the offences punishable under Section 302 and 201 IPC under Ex.P16- FIR. PW-15-Inspector of Police, Sompeta Circle took up investigation, sent requisition to the Tahsildar to depute V.R.Os. to act as med