Advocates:
['M/S P PUGALENTHI', '', 'P K ILAVARASAN', 'M KANNAN', 'PUBLIC PROSECUTOR']

THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

Dated : 20..02..2017

Coram:

THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE S.NAGAMUTHU

AND

THE HON'BLE DR.JUSTICE ANITA SUMANTH

Criminal Appeal No.46 of 2017

Manikandan

...Appellant/Accused

-Versus-

State Rep. by its

Inspector of Police,

Kaveripattinam Police Station,

Krishnagiri District.

[Crime No.658 of 2015]

... Respondent/complainant

Appeal filed under Section 374(2) of Cr.P.C. challenging the

judgement of conviction and sentence dated 24.10.2016 passed by

the learned Sessions Judge, Fast Track (Mahila) Court,

Krishnagiri, Krishnagiri District in S.C.No.130 of 2015.

For Appellant

: Mr.P.Pugalenthi

For Respondent : Mr.P.Govindarajan, APP

JUDGEMENT

(Judgement of the Court was delivered

by DR.ANITA SUMANTH, J.)

This Criminal Appeal is filed challenging the judgement of

the Sessions Judge, Fast Track Mahila Court, Krishnagiri, in

S.C.No.130 of 2015 dated 24.10.2016, convicting the sole accused

of murder under Section 302 of IPC and sentencing him to undergo

rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/-

in default to suffer simple imprisonment for six months.

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

accused was residing at Balaji Nagar, Savalur Koot Road,

Kaveripattinam, Krishnagiri Taluk.

He used to go to

Ayothipattinam village for tiles laying work. The deceased in

this case was one Mrs.Palaniammal. She was already married, but,

https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

got separated from her husband. She also came for the same work

at Ayothipattinam where the accused was working. In due course,

the accused expressed his desire to marry the deceased. After

six months thereafter, the accused married the deceased at

Karrukkanchavadi Murugan Temple in Kaveripattinam. Thereafter,

the accused and the deceased were living together as husband and

wife at Balaji Nagar.

3. The accused was owning a decorated ox [boom boom ox].

The accused is also a cultural artist who used to take boom boom

cow around villages and perform the said art to earn his

livelihood. The deceased also used to go with him for performing

the said art, but, in due course, the accused came to know that

the deceased was carrying illicit relationship with many men.

Out of suspicion, the accused decided to do away with the

deceased. After the illicit relationship came to the knowledge,

the deceased refused to share bed with the accused. This further

aggravated the motive for the accused to kill the deceased. On

the night intervening 17.08.2015 and 18.08.2015, the accused and

the deceased alone were in their house.

4. It is alleged that around 04.00 a.m. on 18.08.2015, out

of the above motive, the accused pressed a pillow against the

face of the deceased who was sleeping and caused suffocation

which resulted in her death. Early in the morning, the accused

pretended as though the deceased had died unexpectedly due to

natural cause. He went to the houses of his neighbours early

in the morning and informed them that the deceased was found

dead. The neighbours came and found the deceased dead. They

informed the family members of the deceased about the

occurrence. On receiving such information, P.W.1, the mother

and P.W.2, the uncle of the deceased came to the house of the

accused. They were all made to believe that it was a natural

death. As per the custom, they decided to wash the body and keep

it in the dead body freezer box for the relatives to pay their

last respects to the deceased. When the body was washed and

kept in the freezer box, through nose blood started oozing out.

There were also scratch marks found on the neck of the deceased.

This raised a suspicion in the mind of the people. It is alleged

that when they inquired repeatedly, though initially, the

accused disowned any knowledge about the cause for the death of

the deceased, later on, he confessed to them that he pressed a

pillow against the