THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K.SURENDER AND THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE E.V.VENUGOPAL CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 2869 of 2018 JUDGMENT: (per The Hon'ble Sri Justice K.SURENDER)

This appeal is filed by the appellant/accused, aggrieved by the conviction recorded by the Principal Sessions Judge, Mahabubnagar, in S.C.No.110 of 2017 dated 29.01.2018, convicting the appellant under Sections 302 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- for the offence under Section 302 of IPC; and to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for four years and to pay a fine of Rs.500/- for the offence under Section 380 of the Indian Penal Code. Both the sentences shall run concurrently.

2. Heard learned counsel for the appellant and Sri Arun Kumar Dodla, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Sri M.Vivekananda Reddy, learned Assistant Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent-State.

3. The case of the prosecution is that the deceased, late Bokka Kondaiah (hereinafter referred to as ‘the deceased’), was the father of PWs.1 and 2, and after the death of his wife, he was residing in a house at Nawabpet. The deceased was occasionally taken care of by PW.3, the daughter of PW.1, who was studying in Nawabpet. Since the deceased was selling arrack illegally and was keeping some male consumers with him in his house during night times, PW.3 preferred to sleep in the house of her relatives in Nawabpet.

4. The appellant, along with PWs.5 to 7, was a regular customer of the deceased, and three months prior to the death of the deceased on 01.02.2015, the appellant committed theft of Rs.4,000/- from the deceased, and the deceased asked the appellant not to come to his house thereafter. However, on 01.02.2015 at about 7.00 p.m., when PWs.5 to 7 came to the house of the deceased to consume arrack, the appellant too came with a request to the deceased to allow him to consume arrack, but the deceased chided him for having committed theft of cash from his house. The deceased refused to give arrack to the appellant at that time. PWs.5 to 7 consumed arrack and left for their houses. At about 9.00 P.M., the appellant again approached the deceased and requested him in several ways to give arrack, and the appellant also preferred to sleep in the house of the deceased. The deceased asked PW.3 to arrange beds for him and the appellant, and asked her to leave to sleep at the relatives’ house.

5. The appellant, having found the deceased in possession of cash of Rs.850/-, tried to snatch away the same from the deceased and, when the deceased resisted, the appellant squeezed his testicles and also trampled his scrotum with his legs. As a result, the deceased died of haemorrhage and blunt injury to the testicles. The appellant decamped with the cash of Rs.850/- belonging to the deceased. At about 5.30 A.M., the appellant again visited the house of the deceased to find out whether the deceased was alive or not, and on finding the deceased lying dead, the appellant, suspecting some blood stains on his clothes, immediately went to a nearby public tap opposite the house and washed his hands and clothes. PW.4, the immediate neighbour to the house of the deceased, found the appellant coming out of the house of the deceased and washing his clothes and hands. Soon thereafter, PW.3 went to the house of the deceased as usual and, to her surprise, she found the deceased lying dead. PW.3 immediately informed PWs.1 and 2 ,who are the daughters of the deceased, and PW.11, who is the husband of PW.2. After few hours, all of them reached the house of the deceased and found the dead body of the deceased.

6. PW.1, having come to know about the facts through PWs.3 and 4, lodged Ex.P1-report with PW.14, the then Sub-Inspector of Police, Nawabpet P.S., at about 12.30 p.m., on 02.02.2015, and based on the same, PW.14 registered Ex.P15-FIR against the appellant for the offence under Section 302 of IPC. PW.13, the then Inspector of Police, Mahabubnagar Ru