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CRIMINAL APPEALLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 392 of 1974 Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and order dated the 25th April, 1974 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 701 of 1972.

P. Basi Reddy and G. Narasimhulu, for the appellant, A, S. Mulla, T. V. S. N. Chari and P. P. Rao, for the respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SARKARIA J.-This appeal is directed against a judgment of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh, converting-on appeal by the State the acquittal of the appellants into conviction. Appellant No. 1 (for short A-1) was an arrack contractor doing liquor business inter alia within the territorial jurisdiction of Police Station Indukurpet, District Nellore, while Appellant No. 2 (for short, A-2) was a Sub-Inspector of Police in-charge of this Police Station, The appellants and one other person were tried by the Firs Additional Sessions Judge Nellore on charges under ss.120-B, 366, 376, 302/34., 201, 218, 468/34, 324, Penal Code relating to the abduction, rape and murder etc. Of two sisters, named Kalarani and Chandrika Rani of Nellore. The Sessions Judge acquitted the three accused of all the charges. Against the acquittal of the appellants only the State preferred an appeal. The High Court partly allowed the appeal, set aside the acquittal on charges 7, 8, 9 and convicted A-2 and A-I. under ss, 201, 201b34, Penal Code and sentenced each of them to five years rigorous imprisonment. A-2 and A-1 were further Convicted under S. 218 and 218/109, Penal Code and sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment, each. They were also convicted under s. 468 and 468/34, Penal Code and sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment each. The sentences on all the counts were directed to run concurrently. Their acquittal on the remaining charges, including those of abduction, rape and murder, was upheld.

The facts of the prosecution case, as they emerge from the record" arc as follows:

Kalarani and Chandrika Rani deceased were two of the six daughters of PW1, a legal practitioner of Nellore. Kalarani was aged 21 and a graduate from the local Women's College, Nellore. She used to be the President of the College Union and as such was well known. Chandrika Rani was, aged 17 and a B.A. student in that very college. on 6- 6-1971 in the morning the deceased girls along with their parents and other sisters attended a marriage in the house of a family friend (P.W.2). In the afternoon they went away from the marriage house saying that they were going out to have coca-cola. At about 4 p.m. they boarded a bus bound for Mypaud which is a sea-shore resort at a distance of 11 miles from Nellore. At about 5.40 p.m. they were seen alighting from the bus as Mypaud and then proceeding towards Sagarvilla, a Travellers' Bungalow situated near the seashore. They were last seen at about 6-30 p.m. On the seashore by P.Ws. 11, 12, 13 and 14. Shortly there after, P.W. 18, a rickshaw puller was attracted to the seashore by the outcry of a woman. When be proceeded in hat direction, Chandrika Rani came running to him for help. P.W. 18 saw 4 persons including A-1 and A-2 carrying away Kalarani who was groaning. On seeing P.W. 18, A-1 and A-2 turned on him. A-1 first slapped and then stabbed P.W. 18 on his right arm with a pen knife, while A-2 gave blows on his back. Out of fright, P.W. 18 took to his heels while Chandrika Rani was dragged away by the appellants.
"Statement of Nuthalapati Subbarao, son of Venkateswarlu, aged about 30 years" Vysya of Patha-Guntur:
Being an orphan for about 1 years, I have been doing brokerage in supplying extras in the cine field. Day before yesterday i.e. On Friday at Chirala near Lodges two girls Koppulu Vijaya d/o Sundrayya of Ongole and Paranjapi Nirmala d/o Raghavayya of Chilakaluripeta were met by me. I came to know that they live by prostitution. When I told them that I would join them in Cinema they believed me and came with me. On Sunday i.e. On 6-6-1971, in the morning we came to Nellore and stayed in Venkateswara Lodge till 3.30 p.m. Their demand came for the girls. I booked two males for these two girls. Afterwards dispute arose between me and the girls in respect of my broekerage, sharing of the money got by such prostitution out of the money collected. They scolded me in an angry tone and went away crying and weeping and saying that I took them away from their places promising to join them in Cinema, cheated them and committed rowdyism without giving them money due to them. They had only wearing apparel with them. Vijaya is short, stout and fair. Nirmala is lean, tall and fair. They did not come back. I waited for a long time. 1 searched for them at the railway station, bus stand and lodges. When I was inquiring at Atmakur Bus Stand I came to know that the girls went by Mypaud bus at 4.30 p.m. I went to Mypaud and enquired. It was learnt that the two girls went towards north of Pattapulalem and entered the sea at 6 p.m. Having learnt that the body of Vijaya was washed ashore I went and saw the dead body. She had died and appears to have committed suicide. It was also learnt that the second girl also committed suicide but her dead body was not washed ashore. Other facts about them are not known.

The plea of A-2 was that he had duly made an inquiry as to the cause of the death and prepared the inquest report Ex. P-l 1. He denied that there were injuries on the dead body. Pleading alibi for the 5th and 6th June 1971, he said that on these dates he was away on casual leave to attend the marriage of a cousin at Chiraja which at a distance of about 100 miles from Indukurpet. He said that he had proceeded to Chiraja in a car on the 5th morning., and after attending the marriage returned to Nellore on the 6th by 5- 30 p.m. and then on the morning of the 7th June, resumed duty at Indukurpet Police Station. On receiving information about the corpse of a female washed ashore, he went to Mypad and enquired about a person named Nathalapati Subba Rao. The latter gave the information, Ex. P.25, which he (A-2) reduced into writing and then held the inquest in the presence of this Subba Rao and other Panchaitdars at the spot. He did not know if Vijaya and Nirmala mentioned in Ex. P. 25 and Ex. P. 11 were fictitious persons. He further admitted that he was unable to produce this Subba Rao in response to the memo dated 15-6-1971, issued by the D.S.P. (P.W. 59) during the stipulated time of 48 hours.