ACHARAPARAMBATH PRADEEPAN Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Accused Nos. 1 and 4 in S.C. No. 146/01 on the file of the Additional Sessions Court (Adhoc-II, Fast Track), Thalassery, are the appellants in Crl.Appeal No. 1599 of 2003. Accused Nos. 2, 3 and 6 in the above said case are the appellants in Crl.A. 1685 of 2003. Crl.Appeal No. 800 of 2004 is filed by the State challenging the acquittal of the 5th accused in the said case. The mother of the deceased (K.T. Jayakrishnan Master) has filed Crl.R.P.No. 573 of 2004 challenging the acquittal of the 5th accused. The Investigating Officer who was examined as P.W.30 in the case has filed Crl.M.C.No. 5125 of 2003 for expunging the adverse remarks made against him and also to vacate the direction issued by the learned Sessions Judge to the Government to take action against him. Since all the appellants were found guilty of the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to death, the learned Sessions Judge referred the case for confirmation under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the same was numbered as D.S.R. 1 of 2004. The Death Sentence Reference was also heard along with the Criminal Appeals and Criminal Revision Petition. The appellants were found guilty of the offences punishable under Sections 143, 147, 148, 342, 449, 302 read with 149 of I.P.C. They were convicted and sentenced to death for the offence punishable under Section 302, imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 449, rigorous imprisonment for one year for the offence under Section 342, rigorous imprisonment for 6 months for the offence under Section 143 and rigorous imprisonment for 3 years for the offence under Section 148 of Indian Penal Code. No separate sentence was awarded for the offence punishable under Section 147 of I.P.C. The sentences were directed to run consecutively.

(2.) The prosecution case in brief is as follows:-The seven named accused persons and four other persons who can be identified by sight and owing allegiance to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) hatched a conspiracy to commit murder of late K.T. Jayakrishnan Master because of their political enmity towards him. The deceased Jayakrishnan Master was the State Vice President of the Bharatheeya Yuva Morcha and was working as a teacher in Mokeri East U.P. School, at Paremmel in Mokeri Amsom and Desom of Kannur District. In pursuance of a common object of committing the murder of Jayakrishnan Master, the appellants and other accused formed themselves into members of an unlawful assembly at 10.40 a.m. on 1-12-1999 armed with deadly weapons like iron rod, swords, large chopping knife, axe etc. and committed rioting. They trespassed into the property wherein Mokeri East U.P. School is situated. Accused 2, 3 and 6 came to. the eastern side of the building in which Jayakrishnan Master was taking class. Accused Nos. 1, 4, and 7 came to the western side of that building. Accused Nos. 1, 4 and 7 criminally trespassed into the class room from the western side of the building and wrongfully confined Jayakrishnan Master who was teaching the students in Standard VIB. Thereafter, in the presence of the students the first accused beat on the head of the deceased with an iron rod. The other accused persons started inflicting injuries. Jayakrishnan Master made a futile attempt to escape from the class. At the time of initial attack he was standing on the western side of the class room. He ran towards the eastern side of the class room and reached the south eastern corner of the class. At that time, accused Nos. 2, 3, and 6, the other members of the unlawful assembly who. were waiting on the eastern property jumped over the half wall and trespassed into the class room. They joined A1, A4 and A7 in attacking Jayakrishnan and indiscriminately inflicted injuries on the body of Jayakrishnan Master using weapons like swords, chopping knife etc. Jayakrishnan Master died on the spot. After the brutal murder of Jayakrishnan Master in the presence of his own students, the assailants wrote a warning in the black board of Class V A threatening the witnesses that in case anybody dares to give evidence against them, they will also meet the same fate of Jayakrishnan Master. The further prosecution case is that the 5th accused who was another member of the unlawful assembly guarded the scene with a country made bomb in his hand to frighten and drive away any person who may attempt to save Jayakrishnan Master.

(3.) It is also the case of the prosecution that during the course of the same transaction, with a view to deter Vasudevan Namboothiri, the head constable attached to the Armed Reserve Camp, Kannur, who was then deputed as the armed Personal Security Officer of Jayakrishnan Master, four identifiable persons overpowered him, wrongfully restrained him and assaulted him at the veranda of the nearby shop. Some poisonous liquid resembling formal in was poured into his eyes and mouth. The assailants took away the service revolver allotted to the P.S.O. to prevent any possible obstruction that he may cause to the accused while attacking Jayakrishnan Master. The definite prosecution case is that all these operations were carried out in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused and the accused formed themselves into members of an unlawful assembly with the common object of committing the murder of Jayakrishnan Master.