Case: Ravirala Laxmaiah Vs. State of A.P

A. Balamani (deceased) was the second wife of the appellant. Their marriage was solemnized in 2002, for which her father had given dowry of Rs.20,000/-, gold earrings, a ring and silver anklets etc. Appellant became suspicious of the fidelity of his wife, and began to beat her up at times. The deceased went to live in the house of her parents because of the ill-treatment meted out to her by the appellant. However, upon the advice of the elders in her family, she decided to go back to the appellant. The appellant and the deceased were taken by G. Balaiah (PW.3), the paternal uncle of deceased to Hyderabad, and there he was engaged in coolie work. Here too, the appellant and Balamani (deceased) would often quarrel, and the appellant would beat her. They eventually returned to their village, and 15 days prior to the said incident, the appellant had taken Balamani (deceased) to Srisailam and here they had worked at Eagalapenta, attending to the petty works in and around the colony for some time. D.V. Subbaiah (PW.2), a neighbour, had seen the appellant and the deceased quarrelling, and as a result thereof, had also noticed Balamani (deceased) weeping.B. On 12.7.2003, Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1), father of the deceased, received a telephone call from the appellant, wherein he was informed that Balamani was suffering from a severe stomach ache. The next day, the appellant again made a call to the neighbours of Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1) and asked them to give a message to Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1), asking him to come to Eagalapenta. However, Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1) was unable to reach there. The next day, at about 10.30 A.M., the appellant telephonically informed Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1) that Balamani had committed suicide. Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1) immediately rushed by jeep, alongwith his family. On the way, they met the appellant at Santa Bazar at Achampet. The appellant then informed them that Balamani had committed suicide by hanging herself in theType Labour Quarters, Near the Krishna Guest House, Eagalapenta. Even on being requested by Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1), the appellant refused to accompany them and instead, escaped from there. The family of Balamani (deceased) had thereafter reached thetype quarters, and here they found that the dead body of Balamani (deceased) was smelling, and that from it, blood was flowing out of the house over its threshold. The dead body of the deceased was lying on the floor, and two granite stones lay near the head of the dead body. There were tears on certain parts of the body of deceased, which clearly indicated that there had been attempts made to forcibly snatch off her gold ornaments.C. Dasu Krishnaiah (PW.1) filed an FIR regarding the incident on 15.7.2003, alleging that the appellant had killed Balamani on the night of 12.7.2003, by strangulation. Her nose and ears were viciously cut, and all her gold ornaments and anklets had been stolen.D. The police had recovered the dead body of Balamani, and had got the autopsy performed upon it. The appellant had been absconding, and thus could be arrested only on 15.7.2003. On the basis of the disclosure statement that was made by the appellant, the ornaments of Balamani, deceased, had been recovered in the presence of two panch witnesses, namely, Ganjai Niranjan (PW.8) and Syed Aktharali (PW.9). After completion of the investigation, a chargesheet was filed on 28.10.2005. Charges were framed on 17.8.2006 against the appellant, for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 404 IPC.E. After the conclusion of the trial, the learned Additional Sessions Judge convicted and sentenced the appellant vide impugned judgment and order dated 5.2.2007, as has been referred to hereinabove.F. Aggrieved, the appellant preferred an appeal before the High Court, which was dismissed vide impugned judgment and order dated

Reasoning: It is a settled legal proposition that in a case based on circumstantial evidence, where noaccount is available, the principle is that when an incriminating circumstance is put to the accused and the said accused either offers no explanation for the same, or offers an explanation which is found to be untrue, then the same becomes an additional link in the chain of circumstances to make it complete.In view of the above discussion, we reach the inescapable conclusion that appellant had been doubting the character of his wife and therefore, had adequate motive to eliminate her. In spite of the fact that he had been in the same room, he failed to furnish any explanation as under what circumstances his wife was found dead. Particularly, in view of the fact that the courts below had excluded the theory of suicide. The same conclusion stands fully fortified by the fact that the saree of deceased was lying in the corner of the room and the version given by the appellant that he had found his wife hanging with a saree around her neck and he cut the same by knife stands fully falsified as in such a fact-situation, part of the saree should have been found hanging with the ceiling of the room. The conduct of the appellant that he had given a false information to his in-laws and while dead body was lying in his house he stayed in a Krishna Guest House; further that he had absconded from the city itself, suggest that he is guilty of the offence.However, in view of the binding decision referred to hereinabove, we concur with the reasoning that has been given by the Trial Court, as well as by the High Court and are not in a position to accept the submissions made by Dr. Aman Hingorani.