Conditions for acceptance of circumstantial evidence.

M. KARPAGAVINAYAGAM, J.

This appeal is directed against the judgment in S.C. No. 129 of 1986 on the file of Principal Sessions Judge, Madurai convicting the appellants for the offences under Sections 459, 302 read with 34 and 392 read with 34, I.P.C. and sentencing them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years, life sentence and five years respectively directing the sentences to run concurrently

2. The crux of the accusation against the appellants is that on 16-11- 1985 at about 8 a.m., the appellants effected entry into the house of the deceased Vijreswari Ammal situated at door No. 25, Veeraraghavaperumal Street, Tirunagar and murdered the deceased by strangulating her by placing a pillow on her face, tying it with a saree and also tying her hands and legs with the body with the same saree and committed theft of gold jewels of which gold chain weighing about 3 1/2 sovereigns, gold bangles about 5 1/4 sovereigns, a foreign set tape recorder and Rs. 35/- cash all worth about Rs. 16, 000/-

3. The prosecution case as discerned from the evidence let in before the trial Court on behalf of the prosecution could be summarised as follows

(a) That deceased Vajreswari Ammal, aged about 60 years was the retired Principal of a college. She was a spinster. She was staying alone in the rented house at door No. 25, Veeraraghava Perumal Street, Tirunagar for four years, P.W. 3 Sambandam is the landlord residing in the same house in the upstairs. P.W. 1. Meenakshi Sundaram is the neighbour, whose house is situated at the eastern side to the house of the deceased. P.W. 2 Chithirayee is working as servant maid both at the house of P.W. 1 Meenakshi Sundaram and the deceased. She used to work between 6 and 7 a.m. at the house of P.W. 1, thereafter she would go to the house of some other person and she would come back at 8 O' clock. Between 8 and 9 a.m. she would work in the house of the deceased. Again she would go to the house of P.W. 1 to work there between 10 and 11 a.m(b) Both the appellants are running a mobile laundry and they used to come to several streets in the area, collect the cloth from the various houses and iron. them and handover the same to the respective houses

(c) P.W. 6 Kumar, the brother of the deceased is the resident of T. Nagar, Madras, working as a Director in laminated company

(d) On 16-11-1985 at about 7-30 a.m. P.W. 3 Sambandam, the landlord came to the water tap situated in the ground floor and collected the water. At that time the deceased Vajreswari Ammal also came for taking water. P.W. 3 after collecting the water went to his house at first floor

(e) P.W. 2 Chithrayee, the servant maid, after finishing her work in the house of P.W. 1 came to the house of the deceased to attend the work. Since the front door was found locked she went back and again came to the house at 11 a.m. Even then the front door was locked. She went to the backyard since it was opened. She entered into the house through the back door and called the deceased as 'Amma, Amma'. There was no response. So, she entered into the bedroom and saw the victim lying down tied with the saree on her legs and hands and she was also found with a pillow put on her face tied with the saree. On seeing the horrible sight P.W. 2 rushed to the house of P.W. 1 and informed him. P.W. 1 and his wife came to the house of the deceased and found the deceased was dead. On hearing the shouts, P.W. 3 who was on the upstairs also came down and saw the deceased

(f) Thereupon at 12-45 p.m. P.W. 1 informed the police through telephone, police came to the spot and after seeing the dead body they took P.W. 1 to the station where he gave a complaint Ex. P-1 at 1-30 p.m. P.W. 15 the Inspector of Police received his complaint and registered a case in crime No. 449/85 for the offences under Ss. 302 and 380, IPC. The printed FIR is Ex. P-19. He arranged to send this FIR and the complaint to the senior officials as well as to the Court. In the meantime, intimation was sent t