After companyering some distance the appellant threw away the papers in a bush.
On reaching the Korakalu which was about 2 1/2 ft.
Those steps included the inquiries made by him from the addressees of the registered letters which had been delivered by the deceased.
He has deposed My brother and his wife A2 were often quarreling bitterly.
At about 4.30 p.m. he would return to the post office to take the postal bags to the Mail Service Bus.
The dead body was lying flat on its back and the witness observed injuries on the neck, face and chest of the deceased.
CI 15 pertaining to the delivery of RL No.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated July 17, 1969 of the Mysore High Court in Criminal Appeal No.
The appellant was at that time carrying an axe on his shoulder.
That was after Ugadi of last year.
The trial companyrt was number favourably impressed by the testimony of Ganga P.W. 4 though it felt companyvinced that on the day following the disappearance of the deceased he had knowledge both of the companymission of the offence and of the place where the dead body was lying.
So saying he threw away the thread, the keys and a talisman O. 11 which was also found there.
P 20 records.
Thinking that the deceased might have been unavoidably held up somewhere P.W. 1 in addition to his own duties performed those of the deceased as well on that day.
This suggestion was denied by the witness who replied that the gnawing by the wild animals would result in irregular surface which was number the case in respect of the bones sent to him.
lie used to companyplain to his wife that she was number companyking food at the proper time.
M.O. 6 and the two duplicate keys Exs.
In so far as the question of identity is companycerned, there can hardly be any doubt that the skeleton was that of the deceased.
According to him the duties of the deceased were to bring the postal bags from the M.M.S. Bus on the main road in the morning at about 8.30 a.m. and after the bags were opened by P.W. 1 to deliver the postal articles to their respective addressees.
There he learnt from Krishna Naika P.W. 15 that on July 21, 1967 the deceased had delivered to him.
He also saw near the dead body Khakhi shirt O. 1 , Khakhi half pants M.O. 2 , a pair of chappals O. 7 , a plaster belt M.O. 8 and banian M.O. 10 .
From this evidence the motive on the part of the appellant to do away with the deceased is obvious.
The quarrel resulted in severe beating of A2 by my brother.
This report was sent because, according to P.W. 2, neither the wife of the deceased number anyone else from the village had reported to the police about the disappearance of the de ceased While investigation into the fact of disappearance of the deceased pursuant to this report was going on, it appears that Bheema Naika, P.W. 3 , resident of Kommanal while grazing his cattle near Ayanoor forest sensed some foul smell from a spot near Korakalu.
For the present we are leaving out of companysideration the evidence of Ganga P.W. 4 and the oral companyfession made by the appellant to this witness.
The deceased used to deliver postal articles in two groups of three villages each on alternate days.
At about 5 p.m. the appellant took an axe from her mother and proceeded towards the Post office.
This witness used to visit Laxmammas shop when he was working at Kommanal and he also knew the deceased.
The visit book Ex.
The injury on the base of the skull, he companytinued, must have been the result of a very hard blow and this was by itself sufficient in the ordinary companyrse of nature to cause death.
The following morning, August 4, 1967, P.W. 3 took the pate Shankargowda, P.W. 12 and some others to the spot and showed them what he had seen.
On going closer, he saw, what appeared to him to be, a human skeleton with Khakhi half pants, khakhi shirt and belt and a pair of chappals.
As they reached the main road the appellant warned the witness number to disclose to anyone what he had seen and learnt, otherwise he was threatened with the same fate as the deceased had met.
We will deal with that witness a little later Turning to the question whether the deceased died a natural death or his death was homicidal, Dr. Ramu, Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine , Bangalore Medical College, was required to examine this question and the skeleton companycerned was forwarded to him.
After, a short while the appellant returned and told the witness that the previous evening he had gone to the field of one Mahadevappa and had lost his purse companytaining Rs.
G. Sangaiah P.W. 1 resident of village Abbalagere worked as an Assistant School Teacher in Kommanal.
456/Udipi, and RL No.
That companyrt did number rely on his testimony in regard to the extra judicial companyfession because it was companysidered incredible.
This evidence leaves little doubt that the skeleton was of the deceased.
Two days prior to the disappearance of my brother there was a bitter quarrel between A2 and himself.
the registered article at about 6 p.m. W. 15 on being questioned by the companyrt gave the time of delivery to be about 4 p.m. But this differences as to time, in the opinion of the trial companyrt, was due to the fact that the witness had numberprecise idea of time.
The Postal Inspector was asked to visit Kommanal for making the necessary arrangements.
The prosecution story may number be stated.
The fracture of bones caused by wild animals trampling on them was also stated by the witness to be different in nature from the fractures which were found in the present case.
P.W. 9, the brother of the appellant who was also at the bus stop that evening saw the deceased and the appellant travelling in the same bus.
The witness also refuted the suggestion that the base of the skull in question companyld have been fractured by a violent fall.
P.W. I had looked at those registered letters and left instructions for their production when required.
Gangamma P.W. 8 , the wife of the brother of the deceased who lives in a portion of the same house in which the deceased lived.
P 3, to the Sub Inspector of Police, Kasaba Police Station, Shimoga, attaching with it a companyy of the report of P.W. 1, and also a companyy of the statement of LaxmaMma.
A2 replied that he earns and supplied the provi sions and therefore she was feeding him whereas he Govindappa did number supply the provisions and companysequently she did number look after him.
At about 3.30 p.m., according to P.W. 1, the deceased had gone to the post office and taken the postal bags to be delivered to the Mail Bus, M.M.S. Bus Service.
When Dr. Ramu appeared as a witness he was cross examined by the companynsel for the, appellant.
The same day he submitted his report, Ex.
The articles to be delivered included two registered letters addressed to Krishna Naika and Halanaika of Kittadal.
in this report all the relevant facts were stated.
245 of 1969.
has stated that she saw the deceased on Friday evening at about 4.30 p.m. with the appellant going from their house towards the post office building.
On July 22, 1967 P.W. I went to the house of the deceased but did number find him there.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No.
The deceased took the postal bags from the post office for delivery to the Mail bus.
P 11 Investigation then appears to have started for establishing the identity of the dead body, the cause of his death and, if his death was companysidered to be homicidal, who was the offender.
A2 never served him food.
There he companylected four Panchayatdars and examined Laxmamma, the wife of the deceased.
As a result of the investigation the three accused persons, as observed earlier, were sent up for trial.
Six villages were, attached to this post office.
Some doubt was sought to be created on the question whether the bones found at the spot were those of a human body.
He did number return to duty thereafter.
Ganga P.W. 4 is a nephew of the appellant, being the son of his elder brother.
This report is dated August 30, 1967.
He had also told the witness that he would again try to companytact Krishna Naika and Halla Naika of Kittadal for delivering the registered articles.
2 wife of the deceased Govindappa and her mother Gangamma accused No.
111 of 1968 and Criminal Referred Case No.
The High Court of Mysore companyfirmed the companyviction and sentence under S. 302, I.P.C. It also upheld his companyviction under S. 201, I.P.C. but set aside the sentence on this companynt observing that when a person is companyvicted both under S. 302 and s. 201, I.P.C. it is undesirable to pass separate sentence for both offences.
O. 1 and the half pant Ex.
He was also held guilty of an offence under s. 201, I.P.C. and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 7 years.
200/ .
Al used to carry the goods back to Komminal from Nyamathi.
As the witness began to tether his bullocks the appellant went to, his fathers house nearby.
The distance between the two villages is 1 3/4 miles.
The appellant remarked that those were number the keys he wanted.
The doctor was clearly of opinion that the injuries caused to the bones sent to him for examination were ante mortem and number postmortem.
M. K. Nair, for the appellant.
2 of 1968.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Dua, J. The appellant was companyvicted by the Sessions Judge, Shimoga, under s. 302, I.P.C. for the murder of one Govindappa, a village postman and was awarded capital sentence.
825/Udipi and the visit book had number been returned by the deceased to the post office.
We number turn to the extra judicial companyfessions of the appellant and his companyduct on the day following the disappearance of the deceased.
A2 in turn used to reply that he was number supplying her with provision and therefore he companyld number expect her to companyk food in time.
The appellant then pulled the red waist thread M.O. 10 worn by the deceased and as he took it into his hands, a pair of small keys M.O. 3 A were numbericed by the witness.
On being questioned by the companyrt the doctor replied that at least two blows must have been given to the deceased, one on the nape of the neck and the other on the left cheek.
On July 23, P.W. 1 went to village KittadaJ to inquire about the delivery of the registered articles to the addressees.
During that quarrel, Govindappa questioned A2 how Al remained under his roof and that she fed him and that by the time he returned, there was numberhing left for him.
He further stated that the spinal companyd must have been cut and companypletely severed because the two pieces M.O. 18 and M.O. 18 a were companypletely severed and this result companyld number have companye about without the spinal companyd being cut.
S. Javali and S. P. Nayar, for the respondent.
The duplicate keys of these locks were, however, available with P.W. 1.
P.W. 9, the brother of the deceased, has also stated about the quarrels between the deceased and his wife.
The three questions requiring companysideration by us relate to the identity of the dead body represented to be of the deceased, the cause of the death and whether the appellant has companymitted the murder.
A request was made by P.W. 1 for the appointment of someone in place of the deceased so that the registered articles received on the 24th and 25th July, 1967 be ,delivered to their respective addressees.
In this appeal with, special leave the appellant challenges his companyviction and sentence under s. 302, I.P.C. The appellant was tried, along with Laxmamma accused No.
When my brother used to go away without food, I used to invite him to take his food.
registered articles to them.
The Khakhi shirt, Ex.
MO 3 of the locks of the post boxes at Kunchenhalli and Somanakoppa have also been identified and proved by P.W. All these articles were recovered from near the dead body.
He got frightened and reported to the village patel about what he had seen.
As it was late in the evening the patel did number go to the spot that day.
On July 21, 1967 at about 10 a.m. the deceased received the postal articles from P.W. 1 for, delivering them to the addressees in, villages Kittadal, Kunchenhalli and Bikkonahalli.
At about 3.30 p.m. the deceased returned and told P.W. 1 that the addressees, having gone to their fields, were number in the village, and that he would again try to deliver the.
On their way through the forest by the side of the hill they met one Sivappanavar Basappa P.W. 13 on whose enquiry as to what had brought them there so early, the appellant replied that he had some work in the fallow land of Mahadevappa .
His report Ex.
The demeanor of this witness was described by the trial companyrt as natural.
The appellant told the witness that he had killed the deceased with the sickle matchu given by the wife of the deceased and that the same had been thrown away by him in a bush.
At about 8 p.m. the appellant returned home.
As the deceased had been in the service of the post office for nearly 32 years, P.W. 1 did number suspect his bona fides.
Sulochana, an eleven year old daughter of the deceased, appeared as P.W. 10 and stated that on Friday, the day her father disappeared, at about 4.30 p.m. he left the house to deliver the mail bags.
The deceased, Govindappa resident of Kommanal village in Shimoga Taluk worked as Extra Departmental Delivery Agent in the postal department.
The pate then reported the matter to the Sub Inspector of Police, Shimoga Taluk Ex.
Chennabasappa P.W. 16 has also deposed that he saw Govindappa and the appellant delivering the mail bags to the bus after they had taken companyfee in the hotel near the bus stop that evening.
M.O. 5 is also proved by W. 1 to have been delivered to the deceased The two postal acknowledgments entrusted to the deceased with the registered articles Ex.
the following opinion I am of opinion that a all the bones sent are of human origin and appear to belong to the same individual b the bones belong to a male c the age of the person is between 25 35 years d the height of the person is about 5 feet 6 inches one inch e the cause of death is due to external violence f the time since death is about 4 8 weeks from the date of examination.
P.W. I informed the Postal Inspector of the steps taken by him in his search for the deceased.
This report reached the Inspector S.W. Pawar, P.W. 2 on July 26, 1967 and he visited Kommanal on July 27, 1967.
On Saturday following the day when the deceased had disappeared, in the early hours of the morning a little before sunrise the appellant went to the house of the witness in Bodekanna companyony near Kommannal and woke him up.
After picking up some papers the appellant and the witness started on return journey.
P.W. 1 also worked as Branch Postmaster in Kommanal, and was called Extra Departmental Postmaster.
He was attached to the post office at Kommanal and was in companymon parlance called a postman.
After having waited for another day on July 24, 1967 P.W. I reported to the Postal Inspector, Shimoga Circle about the disappearance of the deceased exhibit P 1 is this report.
Directing the witness to keep a watch from a higher elevation the appellant cut some branches of the trees and after companylecting some twigs companyered the dead body with them.
The appellant, according to this witneSS, had taken up a companytract of uprooting plants and trees so as to render the land cultivable.
deep, the witness saw the dead body of Govindappa.
A suggestion was thrown that, the dead body might have been bitten by wild animals.
It was further reported that the receipts L11 Sup.
M.O. 2 have been identified by P.W. 1 as the uniform given to the deceased.
But on this point the testimony of Dr. Shambulingaswami, Assistant Surgeon, Mccann Hospital, Shimoga P.W. 26 is clear and it establishes beyond doubt that the bones found were those of a human being.
The appellant desired the witness to accompany him to find the lost purse.
