JUDGMENT :

P.B. SURESH KUMAR, J.

1. The pivotal question that falls for consideration in these appeals is whether an act performed by a person on a body which he/she believed to be lifeless, would attract the offence punishable under Section 299 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

2. Accused 1 and 2 in S.C. No. 161 of 2016 on the files of the Additional Sessions Court I, Alappuzha, who stand convicted and sentenced for offences punishable under Sections 302 and 201 read with Section 34 IPC are the appellants in the appeals. They are husband and wife respectively. Among the appeals, Crl. Appeal No. 676 of 2019 is preferred by the husband, the first accused and Crl. Appeal No. 277 of 2019 is preferred by the wife, the second accused.

3. This is an alleged case of infanticide. The accused are natives of Uttar Pradesh. One Subahani found the dead body of the infant daughter of accused 1 and 2, Sivani aged 6 months, floating in the Arabian Sea at Azheekkal, where he was baiting fish on 16.10.2015. On the basis of the information furnished by Subahani, a case was registered by Ochira Police under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code). Pursuant to the registration of the case,