The court affirmed a conviction under Section 302 IPC, emphasizing reliance on eyewitness testimony and the sufficiency of direct evidence over the need for motive in murder cases.

JUDGMENT

K. V. Jayakumar, J.

This appeal is preferred by the sole accused in S.C. No.1461/2014 of the Additional Sessions Court-VI, Thiruvananthapuram. The appellant stood for trial for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (‘ IPC ’ for the sake of brevity).

2. The learned Sessions Judge found the accused guilty of the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC , convicted and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,00,000/- with default sentence to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years. It is further directed that if the fine amount is realised, it shall be paid as compensation to the mother of the deceased.

The prosecution case

4. In this case, the prosecution depicts the story of a brutal murder of a boy aged 19 years, namely Shehanshah, on a trivial reason that the deceased had not repaid a meagre sum of Rs. 100/- allegedly borrowed from the accused.

5. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 11.05.2012 at about 7.30 p.m. at Kariyara on the public road from Karumom to Madupalam in Nenmon Village, the deceased, Shehanshah, was conversing with PWs. 2, 4, and 5, the accused, due to previous animosity, caught hold of the shirt of the deceased and abused him. When PWs 2, 4, and 5 intervened, the accused took MO1, a broken metallic handle of a ladle from his waist and inflicted a stab injury on the middle of the deceased’s back. Thereafter, PWs. 2 and 5 took the deceased Shehanshah to PW13, a Homeo Medical Practitioner and then to PRS Hospital. Since his condition was critical, he was taken to KIMS Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. The injured succumbed to his injuries on 12.05.2012 at 5.30 a.m. at KIMS Hospital.

The Registration of FIR and the Investigation

6. On the basis of Ext.P1 FIS lodged by PW3 (Ashraf), the uncle of the deceased, PW22, (Robi) SI of Police, registered Ext.P13 FIR. PW23 (S. Anil Kumar) took up the investigation on 12.05.2012 itself. He conducted the inquest of the body of the deceased Shehanshah and prepared Ext.P3 Inquest Report. He, thereafter, visited the place of occurrence and prepared Ext.P4 scene mahazar in the presence of the witnesses. Blood stains were collected from the place of occurrence and forwarded to the court. He arrested the accused on 12.05.2012, at 5:00 p.m, after preparing Ext.P15 arrest memo and Ext.P16 inspection memo.

7. Thereafter, he interrogated the accused and recorded his confession. On the basis of the disclosure statement of the accused and as led by him, MO-1, the handle of the steel ladle was recovered from the house of the accused at Karumom, from beneath a plastic chair. Ext. P5 is the recovery mahazar and Ext.P5(a) is the exculpatory portion of the confession statement. PW23 identified MO-1 in the Court.

8. Thereafter, the dress and belt worn by the deceased were seized from PRS Hospital, as per Ext.P7 mahazar. He identified MO-2 (grey coloured shirt), MO-3 (blue colour jeans pants) and MO-4 belt. He also seized Ext.P9 case sheet from PRS Hospital. Thereafter, the material objects were forwarded to the court. He questioned material witnesses, completed the investigation and laid the charge before the jurisdictional Magistrate.

The Committal and the Proceedings before the Trial Court.

9. The jurisdictional Magistrate committed the case to the Court of Sessions, Thiruvananthapuram. The Sessions Judge, Thiruvananthapuram, made over the case to the Additional Sessions Court-VI for trial and disposal.

10. The learned Sessions Judge, after hearing both sides, framed charge under Section 302 of the IPC . When the charge was read over to the accuse