Eyewitness credibility upheld by medical evidence and timely FIR; inquest report does not discredit witnesses; conviction under S.302 IPC sustained.

JUDGMENT :

N.ANAND VENKATESH, J.

The sole accused has assailed the judgment of the III Additional District and Sessions Judge, Thanjavur made in SC NO.260 of 2016 dated 26.10.2022 wherein the appellant was convicted and sentenced in the following manner:

2. The case of the prosecution is that the deceased was having a love affair with the elder sister of the accused. On coming to know of the same, the accused person and his relatives went to the house of the deceased and had a quarrel with the family of the deceased. Thus, there was a previous enmity with the deceased. On 23.11.2012, at about 5.45 p.m., when the deceased was standing near Kattupallivasal, Adhiramapattinam and talking with his friends, the accused person came to that place in a two wheeler and he restrained the deceased and abused him in filthy language and attacked him with knife repeatedly on the left side shoulder, right rib and on the backside.

2.1. PW2, who is one of the friend and who was present at the scene of occurrence, immediately took steps to take the deceased to the hospital. PW6 is the Ambulance Driver took the deceased in the ambulance to Government Hospital, Pattukottai. PW10-Doctor gave the treatment and issued the accident register (Ex.P7) on 23.11.2012 at about 6.15 p.m. by recording the following injuries:

“1.Incised wound 2 x 1 x depth could not be assessed over left shoulder;

2. 3 x 2 x depth could not be assessed incised wound over left side chest 

3. 7.7 x 5 x depth could not be assessed incisded wound over right loin.”

3. Thereafter the deceased was taken to Vinothagan Hospital at Thanjavur and was treated by PW12 and the said Doctor issued Accident Register Ex.P8. Unfortunately, the deceased died on 24.11.2012 at about 4.10 a.m.,

4. In the meantime, PW1, who is the junior paternal uncle of the deceased, gave the complaint (Ex.P1) on 23.11.2012 at about 18.30 hrs., to PW13, who registered the FIR (Ex.P9) in Crime No.214 of 2012 for offence under Sections 341, 294(b), 324, 506(II) and 307. He went to the scene of occurrence on 23.11.2012 at about 8.00 p.m. and in the presence of witnesses, he prepared the observation mahazar (Ex.P10) and rough sketch (Ex,P11). He recorded the statements of the eyewitnesses under Section 161(3) Cr.P.C. On 23.11.2012, at about 9.30 p.m., the accused person was arrested and based on his confession, MO1 and MO2 were seized under Athatchi Ex.P5. The accused person was produced before the concerned Court and he was remanded to judicial custody.

5. PW13 went to Vinothagan Hospital on 24.11.2012 at about 5.30 a.m., after getting the information that the deceased died in the hospital. Hence, he altered the FIR to offence under Section 302 and alteration report (Ex.P13) was prepared and submitted before the Court.

6. On 24.11.2012, from 8.00 a.m., to 10.00 a.m., the inquest was conducted in the presence of witnesses and panchayatdars and the inquest report (Ex.P14) was prepared. The dead body was sent to postmortem through PW11 and the postmortem was conducted by PW9. PW9 issued the postmortem certificate marked as Ex.P6, where the following injuries were recorded:

“1.Sutured wound (7x2 cm) noted over the back below the left scapula.

2.A sutured wound (10x2 cm) noted over the right loin region with the drainage tube inside. 

3.Lacerated sutured wound (8x2 cm) noted over left shoulder;

4.Drainage tube wound no