Case: Vemireddy Satyanarayan Reddy &amp; Others Vs. State of Hyderabad

death. His body was buried in a pit dug in he river bed. The rope which was found round the neck of the dead body when it was exhumed is said to be the rope with which P. Ws.3 to 6 and 9 were tied up and as the one that the members of the gang brought from the house of Silam Brahmareddi (P. W. 17) earlier that evening when the village was raided and the Congress workers were marched to the Congress flag.10. There is also evidence that the party of the accused when they first encountered the party of deceased asked who and where was Venkatakrishna Shastry. The assailants, who were armed to the teeth, indulged in threats to kill all of them. The deceased was a Congress leader and it is not surprising that he was singled out for terrific punishment, while the others were let off with a good thrashing and admonitions that they should given up their Congress affiliations.It is but natural in the circumstances that they should take away the deceased to a distant place to do away with him. That he was so led by the group of the accused is also corroborated by the evidence of Yesob (P. W. 12) who was watching his jawar crop on the night in question in a neighboring field.11. Let us now turn to the exhumation of the dead body, the inquest report, the postmortem certificate, and the evidence of the doctor (P. w. 7). The patwari of Sakrivedu ( P. w. 10) sent a report on 8-2-1949, that he had information that a dead body lay buried in the river-bed. The report has not been filed but its purport about the condition of the body is given inquest report as unidentifiable.Two police sub-inspectors and some constables reached the river-bed the same day and exhumed the body. Its then condition is described in these words in the inquest report: "It was noticed that a rope of Chinna and Ambara was wrapped from neck to the waist. Both hands were missing and out of the two legs one was attached to the body with little flesh. The bones of the other separated leg (the down part of the knee) and the bones of one hand were found in the pit. There were some hairs in the head. The flesh of the face was rotten and decayed. Teeth are safe and sound. There is rotten flesh from the neck to the buttocks. It appears that this dead body is of a Hindu Brahmin."12. The panchnama is signed by two persons one of whom HAS BEEN EXAMINED AS P.W.16. He, along with the witnesses who gave evidence as co-sufferers with the deceased in the communist raid of that evening, have identified the body as that of Venkatakrishna Shastry. The doctors post-mortem certificate is exhibit 2 and according to it the body was petrified and even the marks of strangulation could not be detected; both the plams had been cut out, the left hand was severed completely; there was only the left eye in a rotten condition; the right eye was not found, the right ear was not there, Exanmined as P. W. 7 the doctor has said that the face of corpse could not be identified, as the scalp was eaten away by mud, and the bony structure of the face was present.13. In the face of this evidence, the learned counsel for the appellants contended with much force that identification must have been impossible and that the witnesses who speak to the same should be disbelieved. Two factors are, however, overlooked in this argument. Though the body was in an advanced state of decomposition and many parts of the limbs were missing and even the flesh in the face was gone, it would not have been difficult for close associates of Venkatakrishna Shastry to say that it was his corpse, from the general features, form, outline, contour build of the body, and the appearance of such of the limbs as were available to see. His friend Madhusudhana Rao, P. W. 15, was working with the deceased for some years in the Congress office and knew him well indeed. There is his evidence about identification. More important still is the identification of the rope round the neck of the body, the dhoti with the violet border that was on its waist, and the janjam or the holy thread. The rope was brought from the house of Brahma Reedy (P. W. 17). It was the one which was tied in loops round each member of the congress group as they were led from the village to the redgram field; it was the rope that was used to lead Venkatakrishna Shastry to the booklet; and it was the rope that was found round the neck of the dead body when it was unearthed. The bordered dhoti which was on the corpse belonged to Venkatakrishna Shastry. From these external marks, and the general features, friends of the deceased like P. Ws.3 to 6 and 9 and P. W. 17 in whose house Shastry was living could say, we think, that the body buried in the waist-deep pit in the bed of the river was that of Venkatakrishna Shastry.14. Whether he is regarded as an accomplice or as the sole witness of the offence P. W. 14 has been corroborated in such a manner that his evidence about the step taken by the accused immediately prior to the perpetration of the murder carries conviction to our minds. The connection of the accused with the crime must be held to have been made out. We have also to accept that the dead body recovered was that of Venkatakrishna Shastry and no question of the absence of the body arises.15. For this gruesome and revolting murder the appellants have got only imprisonment for life for which they must be thankful to the difference of opinion that arose among the learned Judges of the High Court.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]There is, however, no warrant for such an extreme proposition.Indeed, there can be no doubt that the evidence of a man like P. W. 14 should be scanned with much caution and we must be fully satisfied that he is a witness of truth, especially when no other person was present at the time to see the murder. Though he was not an accomplice, we would still want corroboration on material particulars in this particular case, as he is the only witness to the crime and as, it would be unsafe to hang four people on his sole testimony unless we feel convinced that he is speaking thecorroboration need not, however, be on the question of the actual commission of the offence; if this was the requirement, then we would have independent testimony on which to act and there would be no need to rely on the evidence of one whose position may, in this particular case, be said to be somewhat analogous to that of an accomplice, though not exactly the same. What the law requires is that there should be such corroboration of the material part of the story connecting the accused with the crime as will satisfy reasonable minds that the man can be regarded as a truthful witness.Judged by this test, we can say that the evidence given by P. W. 14 has been amply corroborated. It was not disputed for the appellants that there is abundant evidence consisting of the testimony of several witnesses in support of the truth of the narrative given by P. W. 14 regarding the abduction of thefactors are, however, overlooked in this argument. Though the body was in an advanced state of decomposition and many parts of the limbs were missing and even the flesh in the face was gone, it would not have been difficult for close associates of Venkatakrishna Shastry to say that it was his corpse, from the general features, form, outline, contour build of the body, and the appearance of such of the limbs as were available tofriend Madhusudhana Rao, P. W. 15, was working with the deceased for some years in the Congress office and knew him well indeed. There is his evidence about identification. More important still is the identification of the rope round the neck of the body, the dhoti with the violet border that was on its waist, and the janjam or the holy thread. The rope was brought from the house of Brahma Reedy (P. W. 17). It was the one which was tied in loops round each member of the congress group as they were led from the village to the redgram field; it was the rope that was used to lead Venkatakrishna Shastry to the booklet; and it was the rope that was found round the neck of the dead body when it wasbordered dhoti which was on the corpse belonged to Venkatakrishna Shastry. From these external marks, and the general features, friends of the deceased like P. Ws.3 to 6 and 9 and P. W. 17 in whose house Shastry was living could say, we think, that the body buried in the waist-deep pit in the bed of the river was that of Venkatakrishna Shastry.14. Whether he is regarded as an accomplice or as the sole witness of the offence P. W. 14 has been corroborated in such a manner that his evidence about the step taken by the accused immediately prior to the perpetration of the murder carries conviction to our minds. The connection of the accused with the crime must be held to have been made out. We have also to accept that the dead body recovered was that of Venkatakrishna Shastry and no question of the absence of the body arises.15. For this gruesome and revolting murder the appellants have got only imprisonment for life for which they must be thankful to the difference of opinion that arose among the learned Judges of the High Court.