Kerala High Court
Sivakumar @ Sivankutty @ Gopakumar vs State Of Kerala on 4 December, 2013
Author: P.Bhavadasan
Bench: P.Bhavadasan
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P.BHAVADASAN
WEDNESDAY, THE 4TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2013/13TH AGRAHAYANA, 1935
CRL.A.No. 2203 of 2006 ( )
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SC.NO. 826/2001 OF ADDL. SESSIONS, FAST TRACK (ADHOC) COURT - IV,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
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APPELLANT/ACCUSED :
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SIVAKUMAR @ SIVANKUTTY @ GOPAKUMAR,
S/O.MADHAVAN PILLAI, LATHA BHAVAN, THIRUCHITTOOR
VETTAMPALLI, ANAD MURI, ANAD VILLAGE.
BY ADV. SRI.M.RAJAGOPALAN NAIR
RESPONDENT/COMPLAINANT :
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STATE OF KERALA,
REP. BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
ERNAKULAM.
BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SRI. DHANESH MATHEW MANJOORAN
THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 04-12-2013,
THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
Mn
P.BHAVADASAN, J.
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Crl.A. No. 2203 of 2006
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Dated this the 04th day of December, 2013
J U D G M E N T
The accused faced prosecution for the offences punishable under Sections 498(A) and 306 of IPC. After trial, he was found guilty of the offence punishable under Section 498(A) of IPC. He was therefore convicted and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of 3,000/- with a default clause of three months rigorous imprisonment.
2. The marriage between the accused and the victim was solemnized on 22.08.1993. It appears that at the time of marriage, the accused was employed abroad. He lost his employment there and had to return home. Thereafter, the victim, the accused, the parents of the victim, the children of the victim and the father of the accused were all residing together. The allegation is that the accused, for no particular reason, used to pick up quarrel with the victim and Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -2- used to manhandle her. Unable to bear the ill-treatment any more, on 27.05.2000, she is said to have committed suicide by hanging.
3. PW1, the father of the victim laid Ext.P1, First Information Statement. It was recorded by the Station House Officer of the Police Station concerned and the crime was registered as per Ext.P18, FIR. Investigation was taken over by PW14. Inquest was conducted over the body of the deceased and Ext.P7 report was prepared. Autopsy was done by PW12, who furnished Ext.P9 report. The Investigating Officer had the scene mahazar prepared and articles collected from the place of occurrence. He recorded statement of witnesses and after the arrest of the accused, filed the necessary report before court. He had the articles collected during investigation sent for chemical analysis report and obtained Ext.P17 report. After completing investigation, charge was laid before court. Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -3-
4. The court, before which the final report was laid, took cognizance of the offences. Finding that the offences are exclusively triable by a Court of Sessions, the case was committed to the Sessions Court, Thiruvananthapuram under Section 209 of Cr.P.C. The said court made over the case to Additional Sessions Court, Fast Track (Adhoc)-IV, Thiruvananthapuram, for trial and disposal.
5. The later court, on receipt of records, framed charges for the offences punishable under Sections 498A and 306 of IPC. To the charge, the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. The prosecution therefore had PWs 1 to 17 examined and had Exts.P1 to P18 marked. CW1 has examined as the court witness and Ext.C1 was marked as court exhibit. Mos 1 to 18 were got identified and marked.
6. After the close of prosecution evidence, the accused was questioned under Section 313 Cr.P.C. He denied all the incriminating circumstances brought out in Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -4- evidence against him and maintained that he is innocent. He further stated that his wife was a B.Com graduate and had earned proficiency in typing while he had only school education. His marriage with the victim was only due to his employment abroad and he soon after the marriage, went abroad for employment. He used to sent money to his wife and unfortunately he lost his job abroad and had to return to his native place. He used to go for casual work to maintain his family. In order to save money, he says he used to carry lunch with him. But his job was not liked by his wife who used to pick up quarrel with him frequently on that ground. According to him, she was over suspicious about him and if he talked to anybody, even to the neighbour, she used to pick up quarrel with him. He would say that when ten cents of property which was put up for sale by the sister of the victim, he utilizing his funds, purchased the property in the name of his wife. He carried out the maintenance work of the house in which they were residing. On a particular day Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -5- Maheswari, a neighbour came to their house for milk. Even after calling the victim for four or five times, the victim did not respond. After Maheswari left, the accused on that count questioned the victim which resulted in a quarrel. He would then say that when he was about to leave for work, he did not get the tea and he did not have his lunch pack by the victim. When he questioned the victim about the same, the victim behaved in an unnatural manner and showered abuses on him. Unable to bear the abuse, he says that he picked up a stick and beat her about 5 to 6 times. He, for his employment, had to pass the shop where the tea shop was being run by PWs 1 and 2. When they did not find him carrying his food, he asked him about the same and replied that probably his wife had decided that he should starve for the day and he left place. In the evening, when he returned, he heard that his wife is no more. Having found that the accused could not be acquitted under Section 232 Cr.P.C., he was asked to enter on his defence. The accused chose to Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -6- adduce no evidence.
7. Presumably accepting the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 5 and 8, who are the parents, sister and the son of the victim, the court below came to the conclusion that even though it could not be said that there was any instigation on the part of the accused in driving the victim to commit suicide and thereby, Section 306 of IPC is not attracted, the court formed the opinion that the conduct of the accused was such that it fell within the ambit of Section 498(A) of IPC and the offence is attracted. Accordingly, conviction and sentence followed.
8. Assailing conviction and sentence, the learned counsel appearing for the appellant pointed out that the court below has mechanically acted on the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 5 and 8 without taking care to see whether they stand scrutiny. All witnesses it would be clear according to the learned counsel, are prone to embellishments and developments and if those factors are eschewed from their Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -7- evidence, it could be found that there are no materials on the basis of which the court below could have come to the conclusion that the accused used to ill-treat the victim. Apart from the above aspect, the learned counsel also pointed out that the allegations of ill-treatment except one or two incidents, are all vague in nature without any specific date or time or act as such. Of course, the learned counsel conceded that PW1 says about a particular incident, PW2 about another incident and PW5 says about yet another incident. But the learned counsel drew attention of this Court that the incident spoken to by PW1 is not spoken to by PWs 2 and 5 and vice versa. The learned counsel drew attention of this Court to the fact that there is no allegation that there was any demand for dowry from the side of the accused or that he used to come home drunk and beat his wife. In fact, the evidence would show that he had spent money for purchasing a property in the name of his wife and also for repairing works to the house which in fact belonged Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -8- to the parents of the victim. He had bought a cow and he was looking after the family. It is such a type of man who is now accused of having ill-treated the victim. The learned counsel went on to point out that true, the evidence of PW8, the son of the victim does mention about certain ill- treatment meted out by the accused. But, then the learned counsel pointed out that the court cannot loose sight of the fact that after the incident, he has been staying with PW5 and it is possible that the child witness could have been tutored. Had he stayed with the accused, the position might have been different. The learned counsel went on to point out that even assuming all what the prosecution says is true, at worst it could give a picture of a short tempered person who used to get annoyed at the slightest pretext and might have picked up quarrel with his wife. But characterizing as a woman batterer, it would be unfortunate. It is also pointed out by the learned counsel that one cannot easily ignore the fact that there was incompatibility between the two as the Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -9- wife was much more educated and she in fact, wanted to go for an employment which was not permitted by the accused. After loosing the employment, when the accused returned home and went for casual labour work, it might have reflected on the victim and frustrated by such a life, she might have committed suicide. These aspects cannot be ignored. According to the learned counsel, the evidence is found wanting to show that the ill-treatment or cruelty as contemplated under Section 498(A) of IPC is proved in the case on hand. Accordingly, it is contended that conviction and sentence cannot stand.
9. The learned Public Prosecutor on the other hand pointed out that the evidence of PW3 would show the temperament of the man. PW3, a neighbour who though turned hostile to the prosecution has stated that no one in the neighbourhood could go to the house of the accused for the reason that he would make them run away showering abuses. The learned Public Prosecutor went on to point out Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -10- that the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 5 and 8 clearly show that the victim had a miserable life. Not a day passed without she being beaten. It is true that there are inconsistencies, contradictions, embellishments and developments in the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 5 and 8. But even discarding all those portions, their evidence is sufficient to show that the accused was ill-treating his wife. In this regard, according to the learned Public Prosecutor, the evidence of PW8, the son of the victim assumes considerable importance. He speaks about the thrashing which his mother received on the date of incident also. He also says that almost every day, his father used to beat his mother. The reason suggested by the appellant for doubting his evidence according to the learned Public Prosecutor, is not legally tenable. There is nothing to show that the child was tutored or that the child had any reason to falsely implicate the accused. It is not as if that the accused had acted on the spur of the moment or spontaneous behaviour or conduct on the part of the wife. Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -11- But the evidence would clearly show that the assault on his wife was almost a routine affair. The learned Public Prosecutor went on to point out that at any rate, the court below which had the opportunity to watch the demeanour of the witnesses has chosen to accept the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 5 and 8 and unless it is shown that the findings are perverse, no interference is called for.
10. The marriage between the accused and the victim was solemnized on 22.08.1993 and the unfortunate incident occurred on 22.07.2000. The victim was found hanging in her house. It is not much in dispute that soon after the marriage, the accused had gone abroad for employment. It is also not in dispute that he lost his employment and came down to his native place. The evidence shows that the accused, the victim, their children, the father of the accused and the parents of the victim were residing together. As per the evidence, PWs 1 and 2 were running a tea shop and they used to leave the house by 4 O'Clock in the morning and Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -12- return in the afternoon. After taking rest for a while, they again used to go back and return late in the night. The evidence is to the effect that the accused after having lost his job abroad, came down and in order to maintain his family, he used to go for casual work. As rightly pointed out by the learned counsel for the appellant, there is no allegation or complaint that the accused used to harass his wife demanding more dowry or that he used to come drunk everyday and used to assault his wife. In fact, the evidence shows that when 10 cents of property which belonged to PW5 was offered for sale, the accused using his funds purchased the property in the name of his wife. The evidence is also suggestive of the fact that he was maintaining the family. He claims to have carried out the repair works of the house which they were residing and also claimed that he had bought a cow. At any rate, there is no complaint for PWs 1 and 2 that the accused was not looking after the family.
Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -13-
11. However, the evidence of PWs 1 and 2 would show that the accused was harsh on the victim. PW1 is the author of Ext.P1, First Information Statement which was laid within hours of the incident. That does make mention of the fact that the accused used to continuously ill-treat the victim and unable to bear it any more and frustrated by such a life, his daughter had committed suicide. It is true that Ext.P1, does not make mention of any specific incident of assault or ill- treatment. But it makes mention of the fact that there was continuous harassment. Here, one has to remember that the First Information Statement is only intended to set the law in motion and need not be an encyclopedia of facts. There are indications to show that the reason for the victim to have committed suicide is the ill-treatment meted out by the accused. The evidence of PWs 1 and 2 show that the victim was the younger of the two daughters they had. They speak about the work they do and also regarding as to when they leave the house in the morning and return in the Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -14- evening. Both of them say that the accused used to pick up quarrel with their daughter and used to assault her physically. PW1 would say that when the victim used to take objections to the improper conduct on the part of the accused, he used to get furious and beat her also. He would say that on a particular day, when the victim was carrying the second baby, when he reached home, he found the accused assaulting his daughter. When PW2 intervened, she was threatened with dire consequences. He would say that not a day passed without events and ultimately, his daughter was compelled to take the extreme step.
12. PW2 would say that the accused used to assault his wife on the slightest pretext and used to pick up quarrel almost for everything. PW2 would say that the accused used to unnecessarily pick up objections to whatever the victim did for him and used to beat her. She would also say that often the victim had to take shelter in the house of Valsala, fearing the attack of the accused. PW2 would say Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -15- that there were occasions when her daughter was physically assaulted in her presence. She would also say that when she tried to intervene, she was also attacked.
13. It is true that the incident spoken to by PWs 1 and 2 do not find a place in their respective statement to the Police. To that extent, it would be said that there is embellishment. But both of them do say about the daily chorus that happened in the house and both of them say that the accused was an ill-tempered man and used to assault his wife. Even assuming that the specific incident spoken to by PWs 1 and 2 are not reflected in their earlier statements, that does not by itself mean that their whole testimony will have to be discarded. Even eschewing those portions for consideration, there is consistency in the evidence of PWs 1and 2 regarding the conduct of the accused towards the victim.
14. PW5 is the sister of the victim. She would depose about a particular incident which took place in her presence. Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -16- She also would say that her sister used to complain to her about the conduct of the accused and that her sister was driven to commit suicide because of the said fact. She also speaks about the incident which took place in her presence but that incident does find reflection in her statement to the Police.
15. Even accepting the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the appellant that the evidence of PWs 1, 2 and 5 cannot be accepted, there is the evidence of PW8 who is none other than the son of the victim and the accused. True, it is come out in his testimony that he had been staying with PW5. However, a reading of his testimony as a whole would show that there is nothing to suspect the versions given by him. He speaks about his father beating his mother almost everyday and he makes special reference to the incident which took place on the date of incident. On that day morning, according to PW8, he saw his father beating his mother with an iron rod and the mother bleeding Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -17- through the nose. She was repeatedly beaten by the accused and he would say that his mother took him and his brother along with her and dropped them in the shop run by PWs 1 and 2 and went back home. That the victim had brought PW8 and his brother to the shop of PWs 1 and 2 on the date of incident is confirmed by the evidence of PWs 1 and 2. PW8 speaks about the acts of the accused in detail. He too would swear that almost everyday, his mother used to be beaten by his father.
16. Merely because, after the incident, PW8 was staying with PW5 by itself may not be a ground to suspect his version. It is true that the claim made by PW8 that on the date of incident, his father had beaten his mother with an iron rod on her head causing an injury is not supported by the post-mortem findings. But one shall not omit to note that PW8 has also stated that she was beaten on various parts of the body which find reflection in the findings in the post-mortem report. Therefore, it could not be said that the Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -18- entire evidence of PW8 regarding what had transpired in the morning of the incident is untrue. He also makes mention of the fact that on the date of incident, after beating his mother, when the accused was about to leave for work, his mother brought him a glass of milk. PW8 would say that he emptied the glass on the body of the victim. He also speaks about the incident involving Maheswari. Even though this witness was cross-examined at length, there is nothing to show that he is speaking falsehood or that he had any ill- motive or oblique intention to falsely implicate his father. There is nothing to indicate that the child was tutored to depose as he did. Even otherwise, it is difficult to believe that a child would have unnecessarily attributed to cruel acts to his father just because of incitement by the in-laws.
17. The post-mortem certificate issued by PW12 which is marked as Ext.P9 shows the number of ante-mortem injuries which cannot be a result of hanging. That to some extent confirms the testimony of the witnesses that the Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -19- victim used to be assaulted by the accused.
18. It is true that the evidence shows that the accused had spent money for the family and had purchased ten cents of property in the name of his wife. But the evidence also shows that he was ill-treating his wife.
19. In Ext.P8 which is said to be a suicide note, the victim does not blame anybody. But the evidence of PWs 1, 2, 5 and 8 clearly show the reason which had driven the victim to commit suicide. As rightly noticed by the court below, even though it could not be said that the suicide was committed at the instigation of the accused, there is ample evidence to show that she had suffered both physical and mental injury as a result of the act committed by the accused. The court below was therefore perfectly justified in coming to the conclusion that the offence punishable under Section 498(A) of IPC is made out. Conviction has only to stand.
Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -20-
20. Faced with the above situation, the learned counsel appearing for the appellant also pointed out that considering his contribution to the family and considering the fact that in all probabilities, the acts might have been conferred because of his short temperament, some leniency may be shown with regard to the sentence.
21. The court below has awarded him the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years and to pay a fine of 3,000/-. There seems to be some substance in the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the appellant that there is no complaint that the acts were committed by the accused demanding more dowry or that he used to come home drunk and beat his wife. There is also no allegation that he had squandered the money or ornaments which was given to his wife at the time of marriage and there is also evidence to show that he had purchased ten cents of land in the name of his wife and had bought a cow and also had done repair works of the house in which all were residing. Crl.A. No. 2203/2006 -21- There are elements of goodness in him. Considering all these facts, it is felt that some leniency can be shown with regard to the sentence.
In the result, while confirming the conviction of the accused for the offence punishable under Section 498(A) of IPC, the sentence awarded by the court below is set aside and instead, he sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year and to pay a fine of 10,000/- in default of payment of which he is to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months. If the fine amount is realized, it shall be paid to the children of the victim as compensation. Set off as per law is allowed.
Sd/-
P.BHAVADASAN JUDGE ds //True Copy// P.A. To Judge