ANANTANARAYANAN, J. :- The accused in this case (Natesan alias Natarajan) has been convicted of the murder of a young woman named Papathi (S. 302 I. P. C.) and also of attempting to commit suicide (S. 309 I. P. C.) by the learned Additional Sessions Judge of Coimbatore in S. C. 202 of 1959 on his file. The appellant has been sentenced to death upon the charge of murder, and to simple imprisonment to a period of one year upon the charge of attempt at suicide. 2. The facts are extremely simple, and the appellant does not really dispute that he did stab the victim of the occurrence with a knife. His case is that she at first attempted to inflict some injuries on him with the weapon, and that he wrested the weapon from her and inflicted the grievous injuries on her in self-defence. The simple matter for consideration, upon the merits, is whether there is any semblance of truth in this counter-version advanced by the appellant at the trial.

3. The unfortunate victim of this incident was a young girl of about 19, and married to one Nachimuthu (P.W. 6) about six months previous to this crime. Sometime before this crime, the accused seems to have attempted to take liberties with her on one occasion, and there was a complaint to the husband (P.W. 6) which, at that time, he did not regard seriously. But, again, shortly before the occurrence, when the deceased was drawing water from a wall, the evidence is to the effect that the appellant came there and patted her on the cheek, and attempted to engage her in conversation in an improper manner. This was again reported to the husband (P.W. 6) and P.W. 6 and his brothers reprimanded the appellant for his misconduct towards the girl. Even the parents of the accused were in formed, and the result was that the two families ceased to be on talking terms.

4. We do not know what precisely happened on the date of the occurrence itself, between the deceased and the accused. But the facts make it clear beyond doubt that, at that time, the deceased was alone in her portion of the house, and that the accused intruded upon her privacy. The girl raised cries that she was being stabbed, and immediately certain of the witnesses ran up to the spot hearing her alarm. They were P. W. 1, P. W. 2 and P.W. 3 in the first instance, and later, P.Ws. 4 and 5. The accused had apparently locked the door from inside, and the witnesses were unable to open the door at first. Then P.W. 4 went and brought a crowbar (M.O. 1), and the door was forced open.

The victim of the occurrence lay dead in a pool of blood, having sustained mortal injuries. The accused was also unconscious on the floor, with two injuries on his person. The village munsif was sought to be traced for the purpose of making a complaint, and ultimately the first report, Ex. P-l, was made to him after his arrival. The village munsif recorded this report, and sent his reports Exs. P-2 and P-3 on which investigation by the police followed.

5. It is not in dispute that the appellant took the police to the western side of the house of the deceased and that, in consequence of his information, the knife (M.O. 2) was recovered. It is also not in dispute that when the dead body of the girl was inspected by the police, her jacket was found open with the buttons undone. The medical evi dence shows that the victim had six stab injuries on her person, on various parts of the body, of which injury No. 1 involved a fracture of the third left rib, and a perforating wound on the left lung.

Similarly, with respect to injury No. 3, which was in the lower abdomen just above the pubic region, the small intestine was found severed, and the peritonial cavity was found to contain bloodstained fluid. It is very clear that injuries Nos. 1 and 2 were necessarily fatal, and that death must have been practically instantaneous.

6. The accused was found to have two injuries, the first of which was a stab wound 3/4" x 1/2 on the upper Part of the abdomen 1" to the left of the middle