The Court found that the prosecution proved the accused's guilt beyond reasonable doubt for murder and related charges, despite flaws in investigation, establishing the necessity to explain suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

JUDGMENT :

P. Velmurugan, J.

This Criminal Appeal has been filed to set aside the judgment of acquittal passed in S.C.No.170 of 2018 by the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge (FTC), Vellore District on 06.03.2019 and convict the 2^nd respondent/accused under Sections 302 and 201 of IPC .

2. The defacto complainant/appellant is the mother of the deceased. The marriage between the deceased and the 2^nd respondent took place on 08.11.2010 and they were blessed with one boy and one girl child. The 2^nd respondent was working in the Army in Assam. Whenever the 2^nd respondent comes to native, he used to beat and harass the deceased by suspecting her fidelity. In June 2017, the 2^nd respondent came to his native on leave and was staying along with the deceased. On 10.07.2017 at about 9 a.m., the deceased had called her husband and informed that the 2^nd respondent was beating her and asked him to take her from there. Subsequently, at about 10.45 a.m., the neighbour of the 2^nd respondent called her husband and informed that the deceased committed suicide by hanging. Immediately P.W.1 and others rushed to the occurrence place and the deceased was made lying on the floor. There were bruises on the body of the deceased. Therefore, the mother of the deceased lodged a complaint against the 2^nd respondent.

3. Based on the complaint lodged by the mother of the deceased, the respondent police initially registered the case in Crime No.84 of 2017 under Section 174 (3) Cr.P.C. Thereafter, the investigation revealed that the 2^nd respondent used to quarrel with the deceased by suspecting her fidelity and also beaten her and on 10.07.2017, when the deceased was sitting alone in the bedroom, the 2^nd respondent strangulated the neck of deceased with a plastic rope and after the deceased died, by using the same rope, he hanged the deceased in the ceiling hook and left the house. After some time, he came home and staged a drama as if, the deceased committed suicide. Hence, the 1^st respondent police filed the charge sheet for the offences under Sections 302 and 201 IPC against the 2^nd respondent, before the Judicial Magistrate, Gudiyatham, and the same was taken on file in P.R.C.No.16 of 2018. The learned Judicial Magistrate, after completing the formalities under Section 207 Cr.P.C., committed the case to the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Vellore since the offence is exclusively triable by the Court of Sessions and the same was taken on file in S.C.No.170 of 2018 and made over to Additional District and Sessions Judge (FTC), Vellore District for disposal. The learned Sessions Judge, after perusal of materials and being satisfied that prima facie evidence available as against the accused for the alleged offences under Section 302 and 201 , framed charges for the offences under and 201 and when the charges were read over and explained to the accused, he denied the same and claimed to be tried for the offence.

4. The learned trial Judge, after completing the formalities, commenced the trial and during trial, in order to substantiate the charges framed against the accused, on the side of the prosecution, totally as many as 7 witnesses were examined as P.W.1 to P.W.7 and 16 documents were marked as Exs.P.1 to P.16, besides, 4 material objects were exhibited as M.O.1 and M.O.4. However, on the side of the defence, no oral and documentary evidence was let in.

5. After completion of trial and upon hearing the arguments advanced on either side, the trial Court found the accused/2^nd respondent not guilty of the charged offences and thereby, acquitted him.

6. Aggrieved by the ju