IMPORTANT POINT
The confession statement of the accused has to be recorded only by a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate as provided under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and no confession can be recorded by any other Authority while the accused is in custody of Police.

JUDGMENT

C. Nagappan, J.—The appellant Velu is the sole accused in Sessions case No. 388 of 2006 on the file of Additional Sessions Judge, Salem, and he has preferred this appeal challenging the conviction and sentence imposed on him in the case. For the sake of convenience, in this judgment, the appellant will be referred to as accused.

2. The learned First Additional Sessions Judge found the accused guilty of the charges under Sections 302, 404 and 201

r/w 302 IPC and sentenced him to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000, in default to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 302 IPC; and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000, in default to undergo two months rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 404 IPC; and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for four years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000, in default to undergo two months rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 201 r/w 302 IPC.

3. To prove the charges, the prosecution examined PWs 1 to 16 and marked Exs. P1 to P29 and MOs1 to 11.

4. The prosecution case is briefly summarized as follows.

PW13 Lakshmi is the elder sister of deceased Kamatchi and PW12 Sumathi is her daughter and PW2 Shanthi is the daughter of another elder sister of the deceased. Accused Velu and PW4 Madesh were co-workers in Vijay Trading Company and Kamatchi was employed in Raja Mill and she used to advance loans for interest. Kamatchi gave loan to the accused and later, they developed illicit intimacy and were living as husband and wife. Kamatchi used to visit the work place of the accused for collecting interest and she threatened him to come and live with her or else pay back the money. Velu was disturbed by the conduct of Kamatchi and told PW4 Madesh that she has to be done away with for solving the problem. It is also the evidence of PW2 Shanthi and PW12 Sumathi that one day they accompanied Kamatchi and they met the accused and Kamatchi demanded repayment of the loan and the accused promised to pay back the loan and asked her not to further disturb him.

4. On the occurrence day, PW4 Madesh along with his family went to his mother-in-law’s house for attending death anniversary and at about 6.00 p.m. on the way he saw accused Velu in the cycle conversing with Kamatchi in front of Sooramangalam Keerthana Theatre and while returning from the mother-in-law’s house at 10.30 p.m., he saw accused Velu taking Kamatchi in his cycle towards Kollapatti. Thereafter, Velu did not report for work. On 25.5.2003, at 7.00 a.m., PW1 Ponnuvel switched on the motor in his well for irrigating his lands and at about 9.00 a.m., he peeped inside the well to see the water level and he found dead body of a female floating in the well and he went to Irumbalai Police Station and gave Ex.P1 complaint. PW9 Sub-Inspector Palanisamy received the complaint and registered a case in crime No. 491/2003 under Section 302 r/w 201 IPC and prepared Ex.P13 First Information Report and despatched the same to the Higher Officers.

PW15 Inspector M. Sureshkumar received the Express Report and took up the investigation on 25.5.2003 at 1.30 p.m. and went to the land owned by PW1 Ponnuvel and took out the body from the well and prepared Ex. P5 Observation mahazar in the presence of PW5 Munudasu. Ex. P23 is the rough sketch. He took photographs of the body and the occurrence place through PW11. Photographer Sadiq Basha and Ex P15 is photo and Ex. P16 is the negative. He conducted inquest on the body of Kamatchi from 2.30 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. and examined PW1 Ponnuvel and some others and prepared Ex. P24 inquest report. He seized MO2 White Towel, MO7 series pair of rubber slippers and MO8 Sowri under Ex.P6 Mahazar in the presence of PW5 Munudasu and another. He sent the body for post-mortem.

PW10 Dr. Vallinayagam conducted post-mortem on the body of Kamatchi at 10.30 a.m. on 28.5.2003 and found the following:

“Rigor