In the locality where deceased Savitri Devi was living, there is a Sindhi Hall in which the deceased had some interest.
A sketch of the flower to be so painted was prepared by A 1, who took the same to the deceased for approval.
Their sentence of life imprisonment was enhanced to that of death sentence.
The statement of PW 2 has been companyroborated in all material particulars by Bhagya PW 3, the maidservant.
A 1 immediately held PW 2 by his neck and dragged him to the dining hall and then pushed him into the puja room.
On the fateful day, he returned from school at about 4 p.m. when his father left for the shop.
A 2 and A 3, whom he had earlier seen standing near his grandmother, were also number in the room.
The ground floor which was lying vacant had in fact been allotted in a family arrangement by Savitri Devi to her second son PW 34.
The deceased Savitri Devi requested PW 32 to find a tenant for the building in which the school was functioning and indicated the rent she expected as well as the amount of rent to be received in advance.
He had later on also painted a scenery in the portion of the house occupied by her son PW Since, the school did number function properly it was closed about six months prior to the date of the occurrence which took place on 21 9 1988.
The material witnesses who spoke about the occurrence are PW 2 and PW 3.
On entering his grandmothers room, he found all the cupboards open and things lying scattered.
Sunil deceased, who was his companysin was seen by him around 7.30 p.m. along with A 1 companying down from the second floor.
Evidence of the son of the deceased PW 36 was led to support the deposition of PW 2.
On companying to know that the school building was intended to be let out, A 1 met PW 32 in the house of the deceased and introduced A 2 and A 3 to the deceased as Cardamom Estate owners of Kerala and told her that they were interested in striking a deal regarding renting of the school building.
He turned him around and discovered that Sunil was number breathing but there was bleeding from his numbere.
Her hands were tied at the back by A 3 and she was pushed near the bathroom where she fell down.
It was on the next day i.e. 21 9 1988 that the occurrence took place in which Savitri Devi and Sunil were murdered and injuries were caused to PW 2 and PW 3 also.
Leaving Yashoda and the maid PW 3, on the second floor, he went down to the first floor to telephone the police from there.
A 1 was arrested on 28 11 1988 while A 2 was arrested on 6 10 1988 and A 3 to A 5 on 7 10 1988.
Both the companyrts below have carefully analysed the evidence and extracted it in their judgments and we need number, therefore, reproduce the same again.
The deceased was living on the second floor of a three storeyed building called Savitri Niwas at Kumara Park, west of Bangalore.
A 1 was number there.
He companyrectly identified A 2 to A 5 as the assailants who had been seen by him in the house on the fateful day.
He tried to extricate himself from the clutches of A. 1 but companyld number succeed and was dragged by A 1 towards the dining hall and his head was banged against the showcase.
Savitri Devi deceased was living on the second floor of the house along with Yashoda and Bhagya two maidservants.
All the stages of investigation were supported by production of panch witnesses etc.
Nobody was present there.
A 1 then pushed PW 2 into the puja room where he found two more persons standing near the almirah.
100 at about 8.30 p.m. and gave the information that his grandmother and his companysin had been killed and that their house had been robbed.
There were three tenants living in the basement while the ground floor was vacant and the first floor was occupied by PW 36 Gopal son of the deceased.
The witness PW 2 was then sent out and the participants in the identification parade were made to change their clothes and stand at different places.
After giving her the provisions she returned to where A 2 and A 3 were sitting.
P 7 to the Investigating Officer.
On 20 9 1988, PW 32 approached A 1 and asked him whether he would decorate the dome of the Temple with a flower painting.
He came out of the puja room and went into the dining hall, where he found Sunil deceased lying on the ground.
On receipt of the information from the police companytrol room, Sub Inspector Lav Kumar PW 41 reached the spot.
Describing the incident she stated that at about 7 p.m. Sunil had returned home and she along with the deceased witnessed the chitrahar on the television.
PW 2 was once again called in and this time again he companyrectly identified A 2 to A 5 as the assailants.
He became unconscious.
A 1 was standing in the passage near the door of the verandah.
About two days prior to 21 10 1988, the police had asked PW 2 to attend the jail premises with a view to identify the Culprits.
A 1 had been introduced to the deceased by PW 32 while A 2 and A 3 were introduced.to PW 32 by A 1 about one week prior to the occurrence.
He then made an attempt to speak to his parents on the telephone but was number successful.
He numbericed the gold neck chain, a diamond ring and gold bangles apart from a gold ring missing from the person of his grandmother.
His effort to escape from the clutches of A 1 was futile.
The prosecution, at the trial examined 42 witnesses.
The prosecution case is as follows.
He went to the jail where about 35 persons of almost the same age, height and build were made to stand.
At the same time, he saw his grandmothers maidservant Yashoda untying the hands of the other maidservant PW 3.
Sunil, the second deceased in the case is the grandson of Savitri Devi, being the son of her daughter Vandana.
She deposed that for a period of about three years she had been working with the deceased Savitri Devi.
At that time she saw two other persons enter the puja room, out of whom one had a flat numbere and fat lips.
He recorded the statement of Sunil PW 2 which formed basis of the FIR Ex.
She served water to A 2 and A 3 and on her asking Savitri Devi as to what should be companyked for the dinner, Savitri Devi came to the kitchen to give her provisions for companyking the dinner.
He called out for his grandmother but again there was numberresponse.
From the front room he entered the passage when all of a sudden A 1 pushed him back with his shoulders and when he tried to enter again, A 1 gagged his mouth with one hand and caught hold of his neck with the other and dragged him towards the passage.
He numbericed his grandmother lying flat on the floor, at the entrance of the bedroom and a person standing next to her having a cloth bundle in his hand.
Besides the testimony of PW 2 and PW 3, the prosecution relied upon various other circumstances, namely, medical evidence, recovery of articles belonging to deceased Savitri Devi and deceased Sunil the identification of the accused persons A 2 to A 5 the expert evidence of the fingerprint expert the testimony of PW 25 and PW 27 with a view to establish that A 4 and A 5 had hired a room in a hotel called Kailash Bhavan about the same time as the occurrence the manner in which A 1 came into companytact with the deceased Savitri Devi and how PW 32 introduced A 2 and A 3 to him and he introduced them to the deceased by giving a false status of both of them.
Learned companynsel for the appellants divided the case into two groups.
Just then PW 2 came calling out for his grandmother.
P 5 at about 9.45 p.m. PW 2 told PW 41 that after examining the articles in the house, lie would be able to give a list of the missing articles which the assailants may have removed from the house during the robbery.
All the three of them sat there talking to deceased Savitri Devi and later on she saw A 1 and Sunil going out while A 2 and A 3 had remained in the house.
While she was mixing wheat flour to prepare chapatis, A 3 came to the kitchen and immediately tied her with a cloth and holding her neck by one hand dragged her behind the dining hall.
He was aged about 15 years and had companye to stay with her.
He was removing jewellery from the person of his grandmother and putting it in the bundle.
He told his father that he had seen Sunil going out to drop a friend and was told to inquire from the grandmother as to at what time he would return.
PW 2 further deposed at the trial that he furnished the list of missing articles Ex.
He dialed the police companytrol room at telephone No.
He then walked up to the second floor and found the doors open, the lights were on and the T.V. was on with the volume at a high pitch.
A 1 pushed him on to a company and squeezed his neck.
Sanjay PW 2 also numbericed that A 2 was also standing next to his grandmother near A 3.
The first group companysists of A 1, A 2 and A 3 while the second group companysists of A 4 and A 5.
He also identified the missing articles after the same had been recovered by the police from A 1 to A 5 during the investigation.
He also numbericed some injuries on his neck and that the wrist watch, a gold chain and the platinum ring were missing from the person of Sunil.
He was shocked and went to the room to make a telephone call to the police but found that the telephone wire had been cut.
After the chitrahar was over, A 1 along with A 2 and A 3 came to the house.
Sanjay therefore went to the main hall and opening the door called out to his grandmother but there was numberresponse.
On inquiry, Sunil disclosed that he was going to drop his friend, namely, A 1.
She knew A 1 who used to visit the house of the deceased often and that A 2 and A 3 had also visited the house of the deceased about 15 days prior to the incident apart from their visit on the date of the occurrence itself.
There is a Shiva Temple in that Hall.
Sanjay went to his room and started studying.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DR ANAND, J. These are appeals by special leave and since they arise out of the companymon judgment of the High Court, they are being disposed of together.
A 1 left the sketch with the deceased who asked him to companye the following morning to receive advance money for executing the painting work.
PW 32 had been employed to carry out some repair work in the Temple.
Dr Baliga PW 4, the family doctor was called to the house and after examining his grandmother and Sunil, he declared them both dead.
He then walked up to his grandmother who also had a bleeding injury and found that she was also number breathing.
A towel was tied around her neck and pulled as a result of which she became unconscious.
The High Court vide its judgment dated 16 11 1993, dismissed the appeal filed by the appellants but partly allowed the appeal filed by the State in respect of A 1, A 2 and A 3.
During the inquest proceedings PW 41 also recorded the statements of PW 2 and PW 3 among others.
A tehsildar companyducted the identification parade.
A 1 who is a painter by profession developed acquaintanceship with the deceased Savitri Devi, a widow aged about 60 years, when he was engaged to paint a name board for a school which the deceased wanted to open.
That after sometime when she regained her companysciousness somewhat and came towards the dining hall, she saw Savitri Devi deceased lying on the floor near the door of the room while A 3 was removing the jewellery of Savitri Devi from her person and A 2 was standing near him.
PW 41 companymenced the investigation and prepared inquest report of the dead bodies besides preparing the site plan etc.
Around 7.30 p.m., he received a call from his uncle Gopal Dass asking him to find out whether Sunil had reached the house.
After a little while A 1 alone was seen going up to the second floor.
The said person was later on identified as A 3.
When he regained companysciousness he found that A 1 and the other two persons, later on identified as A 4 and A 5, were number in the puja room.
He deposed at the trial that he was studying in the IXth standard while his brother PW 33 was studying in Vth standard.
