V. Bharathidasan, J.

The appellants in this appeal are the accused in Sessions Case No.103 of 2012, on the file of the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, Tirupur. They stood charged for offences punishable under Sections 302 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code. The Trial Court, by judgement dated 19.02.2013, convicted the appellants/accused both under Sections 302 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code, and sentenced them to undergo life imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs.2000/- each, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months for the offence under Section 302 of IPC, and to undergo 10 years rigours imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs.1500/- each, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months for the offence under Section 392 of IPC. Challenging the above said conviction and sentence, the appellants/accused have filed this present appeal.

2. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is as follows:

(i) The deceased one Saraswathi, mother of P.Ws.1 and 6, was aged about 70 years. At the time of occurrence, she was residing alone at Pannaiyar Thottam, Chettipalayam, and P.Ws.1 and 6 were living separately in the same village. On 26.04.2011, P.W.1 went to the house of the deceased, spent half an hour with her and then left her house. Again on 27.04.2011, at about 6.30 am., he went to the house of the deceased but she was not present in the house. So, P.W.1 searched for the deceased and found her chappel near a well. On suspicion, he looked into the well and found the body of his mother inside the well, in between the two pipes attached to pump sets. Immediately, he informed his brother P.W.6 and others then lifted the dead body out of the well and found injuries on her forehead, jaw and knee. P.W.1 also found that 5 sovereign of gold chain belonged to the deceased was missing. Thereafter, he lodged a complaint Ex.P1 before the respondent police at about 12.00 pm.

(ii) P.W.12, Special Sub Inspector of Police, attached to the Mangalam Police Station, received the compliant and registered a case in Crime No.1288 of 2012 under Section 174 Cr.P.C. and sent the FIR Ex.P11 to the higher officials and the Judicial Magistrate Court. After registering the case, P.W.12 visited the scene of occurrence and prepared observation Mahazar Ex.P3 and drew rough sketch Ex.P12 in the presence of witnesses. He conducted inquest over the dead body in the presence of panchayatars. He examined P.Ws.1 to 3 and other witnesses and recorded their statements. Thereafter, he sent the dead body to the hospital for post-mortem through P.W.13, Head Constable. During the investigation of the case, he found that it is a case of murder and altered the case into one under Sections 302 and 392 IPC and sent the altered report, Ex.P14, to the Judicial Magistrate Court. Then, P.W.14, the Inspector of Police, took up the investigation.

(iii) In the meantime, the second accused appeared before P.W.5, a resident of Chettipalayam, and gave extra-judicial confession before him. In the confession statement, the second accused stated that he, along with the first accused, murdered the deceased, stolen the gold chain belonged to the deceased, pledged the jewels and the first accused gave Rs.20,000/- to him. P.W.5, after recording such confession, produced the second accused before the Inspector of Police along with his report Ex.P2. P.W.14 arrested the second accused and recorded his voluntary confession statement. The admissible portion of the said statement is Ex.P24. Based on the disclosure statement, P.W.14 seized Rs.17,000/- M.O.3(series), under Ex.P21. He arrested the first accused at Palladam Bus Stand, near Aavin, and on such arrest, the first accused voluntarily gave a confession statement Ex.P22, which was recorded in the presence of witnesses and the first accused also submitted Rs.17,000/- M.O.3 and the same was recovered under Ex.P21 Mahazar. Thereafter, based on the disclosure statement of the accused, P.W.14 reco