JUDGMENT :

Vinod Chandran, J.

The lure of gold has begotten more crimes than any reasonable man would think; often snuffing out innocent lives. 'Crime doesn't pay' is an adage which the deviants, the desperate and some desperadoes pay little heed to. Here we have a migrant labourer, eking out his living from odd jobs, snatching a valuable gold chain from the body of a housewife and drowning her; presumably in a bid to avoid identification.

2. The appeal is of the year 2021 and we took it out of turn since we take up matters giving priority to those convicted and imprisoned earliest. The appeal itself was filed with a delay of 6300 days and the appellant has been languishing in jail from 2001 onwards. The case set up by the prosecution rests entirely on the circumstances attempted to be proved through seventeen witnesses, twenty documents and twelve material objects. The defence is total denial and the learned Counsel for the accused asserts his right to silence and picks holes in the evidence led by the prosecution.

3. Sri. John S. Ralph, learned Counsel appearing for the appellant, submits that though the cause of death is undoubtedly drowning, whether it is accidental or forceful, ha