The unexplained possession of stolen items and the recovery of incriminating materials on information given by the accused formed a complete chain of evidence against the accused, leading to the inescapable conclusion of his guilt in the murder and robbery of Sarada.

1. This case has come before us in appeal and for confirmation of the death sentence passed by the learned Sessions Judge of Alleppey on the appellant Kuttappan for the murder of one Sarada. The appellant was also convicted under S.392, I.P.C. for robbery and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a term of five years.

2. The deceased Sarada Amma was a young Nair girl of 18, studying for her B.Sc. Degree in the Marthoma College, Thiruvella. She was living with her mother, aunt and others in the village of Nedumpuram about three miles from Thiruvella and used to make her daily trips to the college and back by bus. When returning from college she used to alight from the bus at the stop near Podiyadi junction and walk the rest of the distance to her house along a narrow path in a sugar-cane plantation. On 3rd September 1959 Sarada returned from the college by the 5-30 bus. She was seen getting down from the bus and proceeding in the direction of her house through the sugar-cane plantation, but she failed to reach home.

3. The accused Kuttappan is an Ezhava boy aged 19, a toddy tapper by profession. The prosecution case is that the accused who was a neighbour of the deceased and who in his dire need for money had decided to kill Sarada and rob her of the gold ornaments she usually wore, was lying in wait for her in the dense sugar-cane growth. He pounced on the unsuspecting girl, strangled her and took away the gold chain from her neck and also her earrings which he removed by cutting off the ear-lobes with his tapping knife. He left the dead body in a channel where water was about 21/2 feet deep, hid the tapping knife and its case in another part of the sugar-cane field and after washing himself went home with the jewels. The next morning the accused left Nedumpuram for Karukachal and later visited Kidangara, Pulinkunnu and other places where he either sold or pledged the ornaments he had taken from Sarada.

4. In the meanwhile, upset by Sarada's failure to return home, her mother and others began to make enquiries about her. They learned that she had alighted at the bus stop and was last seen walking homewards through the sugar-cane garden. They looked for her along the pathway, but a thorough search was not possible in the night. The search was resumed the next morning when Pw. 20, Vasudevan Pillai, one of those who took part in the search discovered the body in the channel. Pw.13 Parameswaran Pillai another member of the search party conveyed the information to the Thiruvella Police.

5. Though at first the culprit was unknown further investigation brought to light certain suspicious circumstances against the accused and he was arrested at Thiruvella on the morning of 10th September 1959. Acting on the information given by the accused the police recovered the various items of jewellery pledged by him and also his knife and its cover from the place near the scene of occurrence where he had hidden them after the incident. On 12th September 1959 the accused was produced before the Thiruvella Sub-Magistrate to whom he made a full and detailed confession of the crime.

6. The accused's plea in the Sessions Court is one of total denial. He stated that the prosecution witnesses are perjuring against him at the instance of the police. He also alleged that the torture by the police was responsible for his confession as well as his statement in the committal court where he admitted some of the circumstances appearing against him.

7. There is ample evidence to prove Sarada's death which is not disputed by the defence. Ext. P.19 the postmortem certificate describes eight injuries. They are:

1. The entire lobule of the right ear with a portion of the skin and subcutaneous tissue 1/211x1/2" on the cheek below the lobule is cut and removed by an incised wound.

2. The entire lobule of the left ear with a portion of the skin and subcutaneous tissue 11/4"X 1/2" of the cheek below the lobule is cut and removed by an incised wound.

3. A crescenti