JUDGMENT :

Prayer: Criminal Appeal filed under Section 374(2) of Criminal Code Procedure, to set aside the judgment of conviction passed in Sessions Case No.179 of 2017 dated 28.2.2019 on the file of the I Additional Sessions and District Judge, Tiruvallur.

1. Challenging the judgment of conviction and sentence imposed by the I Additional Sessions and District Judge, Tiruvallur in Sessions Case No.179 of 2017 dated 28.2.2019, the present Criminal Appeal has been filed by the accused.

2. The appellant/accused stands convicted under Section 306 IPC read with Section 9 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act and sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for 7 years and to pay a fine of Rs.15,000/- in default to undergo Simple Imprisonment for a further period of one year and also to pay a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- as compensation to the de facto complainant.

3. The allegation against the appellant/accused is that he has assaulted and intimidated the husband of the de facto complainant/PW1 and abused him for having committed default in repayment of the amount borrowed by him from the appellant and thereby abetted him to commit suicide.

4. The facts of the case as projected by the prosecution witnesses and the complaint and other materials available are as under:-

(i) One Jaishankar (since deceased), husband of PW1 and PW1 had borrowed a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- from the appellant in the year 2012 and had been paying interest for the same at the rate of 5% per month and in the year 2014, they were unable to pay interest for three months and thereby, on 30.7.2014, at about 6.00 pm, while the said Jaishankar was to go for his duty, the appellant, accompanied by another person, came to their house and shouted and abused them by teasing the chastity of PW1. Despite of the same, PW1 and the deceased maintained patience and sought for some time to repay the amount, however, the appellant and the other person took a chair and attacked them and further teased them by shouting from outside their house that if they could not repay the amount, they could commit suicide by hanging. The neighbours had pacified and then the accused had left the place. On that night, the husband of PW1 did not go for duty and both PW1 and her husband took treatment in hospital and came back to their house.

(ii) On the next day, viz., on 31.7.2014, the husband of PW1 was called from his work place. The husband of PW1 told PW1 that after dropping their children in School, they could go and lodge a police complaint against the accused and accordingly, he took the children by 8.30 am to drop them at the School and he had returned home at about 9.40 am. Thereafter, the husband of PW1, who had went inside the house, had not come out and when PW1 went in search of her husband, she had found her husband was hanging from the ceiling fan by using a Duppatta. On seeing the same, PW1 had screamed with fear and hearing the same, the neighbours had gathered there and with the hope that he could be rescued, they had untangled the knots and took him to hospital, however, having found that he died on the way to hospital, they had brought the body back to their house and subsequently, the police complaint was lodged.

(iii) On receipt of the complaint, Ex.P1, the Special Sub Inspector, one Velmurugan, who was in charge of the Tiruvallur Taluk Police Station, had registered a case in Crime No.277/14 under Section 306 IPC and Section 9 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act and the FIR is Ex.P8.

(iv) PW15, Circle Inspector of Police, Tiruvallur Taluk Police Station, who took up the investigation of the case by 3.15 pm on 31.7.2014, had visited the scene of occurrence and prepared observation mahazar, Ex.P4 and seizure mahazar, Ex.P9 in the presence of PW7 Koteeswaran and PW8 Ravi and also recovered Duppatta M.O.1 under seizure mahazar in the presence of the same witnesses. Thereafter, he had conducted inquest in the presence of the panchayatdars an