John Pandian Versus State Rep. by Inspector of Police, Tamil Nadu
With CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 453 OF 2007
Abdul Kareem Versus State Rep. by Inspector of Police, Tamil Nadu
With CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 455 OF 2007
Sivakumar Versus State Rep. by Inspector of Police, Tamil Nadu
With CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 2285 OF 2010
[Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 1217 of 2007]
2Yusuf ... Appellant Versus State Rep. by Inspector of Police, Tamil Nadu
With CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 503 OF 2007
Ubaiadulla @ Tamil Selvan Versus State Rep. by Inspector of Police, Tamil Nadu
With CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 272 OF 2008
Kumar & Ors. Versus State Rep. by Inspector of Police, Tamil Nadu
J U D G M E N T
V.S. SIRPURKAR, J.
1. This judgment will dispose of Criminal Appeal Nos.452 of 2007, 453 of 2007, 455 of 2007 and 503 of 2007,272 of 2008 and SLP (Crl.) 1217 of 2007.
2. Leave granted in SLP (Crl) 1217 of 2007.
3. All these appeals are against the conviction of accused persons who were convicted by the trial Courtand the appellate Court for offences under Sections120B, 302 read with Section 109, Indian Penal Code (IPC)and Section 302, IPC substantively.
4. Initially, there were as many as 11 accused persons tried for the offence of murder of Vivi @ Vivek @ Vivekanandan. The trial Court convicted the original accused No. 9, Kumar s/o Vellaichami, accused No. 10,Pavunraj @ Pavun s/o Poothiyamuthu and accused No.11,Prince Kumar @ Prince @ Balan s/o Amalraj for the offence under Sections 302, IPC read with Section 34,IPC. While accused No.9, Kumar s/o Vellaichami wasconvicted for the substantive offence the other two accused persons were convicted with the aid of Section34 IPC. The trial Court acquitted accused No.3Subramaniam @ Subbu Kutty s/o Ramasamy Gounder. Therewas no appeal against his acquittal filed by the State.Venkatraman Krishnan @ Venkatraman @ Thambu, s/o SuryaKumar (accused No.1), Sivakumar, s/o Maruthachalam(accused No.2), Ubaiadulla @ Tamil Selvan, s/o MohammedYusuf (accused No.4), Yusuf, s/o Abdullah (accusedNo.5), Abdul Kareem @ Kareem, s/o Hanifa (accused No.6),John Pandian, s/o Benjamin (accused No.7), Ganesan, s/o Sudalaimuthu (accused No.8), Kumar, s/o Vellaichami (accused No.9), Pavunraj @ Pavun, s/o Poothiyamuthu(accused No.10) and Prince Kumar (accused No.11) were convicted for offence under Section 120B, IPC . Venkatraman (accused No.1), Sivakumar (accused No.2),Ubaiadulla (accused No.4), Yusuf (accused No.5), AbdulKareem (accused No.6), John Pandian, (accused No.7) and Ganesan (accused No.8) were also convicted for offence Under section 302, IPC read with Section 109, IPC . Out of these accused persons, barring accused No.3, who was acquitted, all the rest filed appeals before the High Court. The appeal filed by original accused No.8, Ganesan was allowed and he was acquitted. The appeals of the remaining accused persons were dismissed and the conviction and sentences passed against them were confirmed. During the pendency of this appeal, however, Venkatraman (accused No.1) committed suicide while accused No.11, Prince Kumar @ Prince died. Thus, in the present appeals, we are left with original accused Nos.2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and accused Nos. 9, 10 and 11. For the sake of convenience, we shall refer to the accused persons from their original accused numbers.
5. This is a pathetic story of a triangle of love having resulted in the gruesome end of the deceased. We shall first start with the gruesome murder of deceased Vivek @ Vivekanandan which took place on 17.8.1993 at about 10.15 a.m. on a busy road called Diwan Bahadur Road in R.S. Puram near Richy Rich restaurant at Coimbatore. The prosecution painted a picture that Vivek and the original accused No.1 Venkatraman, whose family owned Laxmi Vilas Mills at Coimbatore were studying in the same college. One Sunitha (PW-3) was also studying with them. Venkatraman (accused No.1) had a crush on Sunitha. However, there was a love affair going on between Sunitha and Vivek which ultimately resulted in the marriage of both of them. In fact, everything should have come to an end with that marriage and they should have been left to live happily forever but unfortunately that was not to be. The prosecution painted a picture that even after their marriage the fatal attraction which Venkatraman (accused No.1) felt for Sunitha did not end and he remained a close friend of Vivekanandan and Sunitha to the extent that on the earlier day on which the murder took place they had even gone to a movie along with their other friends. It hascome by way of prosecution story that Venkatraman (A-1)was trying to be as near to the couple as possible and he had even provided them with a telephone line. He 6also helped the couple in establishing their house by helping to buy drapery for their newly set up abode. It was also tried to be shown by the prosecution that after the marriage of deceased Vivekanandan with Sunitha there was a brief love affair between accused No.1,Venkatraman and one Sherry who was a student of an engineering college. Though Venkatraman (accused No.1)got married to Sherry in a secret manner perhaps after converting her to Hinduism, Sherry did not honour her marriage vows and left the company of Venkatraman (A-1)and went back to Kerala and, thereafter, also got married to one Thomas and left the country to live in Middle East. This added fuel to the fire of love and jealousy in the heart of Venkatraman (A-1). He, therefore, hatched a conspiracy along with the other accused persons to eliminate the deceased Vivekanandan for ever.
6. It was suggested that Sivakumar (accused No.2) who was his petty employee helped him in establishing contacts with Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf (A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6). The prosecution alleged that Ubaiadullawas a worker of a political party and also moved with another name called Tamil Selvan. The prosecution alleged that Sivakumar (A-2), Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf(A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6) established contacts with one John Pandian (A-7) who was a resident of Tirunelveli and was a leader of an organization called Porur Union Dravidar Kazhagam.
7. Yusuf (A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6) used to know John Pandian (A-7) and, therefore, John Pandian (A-7)was contacted in order to arrange and hire assassins for this purpose. Sivakumar (A-2) Ubaiadulla (A-4) and Yusuf(A-5) first went to Madurai on 17.7.1993 by Rameswaram Express and from there to Tirunelveli and stayed in a lodge called Sri Jankiram Lodge. It is alleged that from there, they tried to contact John Pandian (A-7) on his telephone. However, not being able to contact him and knowing that he had gone to Chennai they went to Chennai. It is the prosecution case that John Pandianwas staying in MLA's hostel at Chennai and these accused persons met him there. It was alleged by the prosecution that after meeting and settling with John Pandian (A-7), Sivakumar (A-2) Ubaiadulla (A-4) and Yusuf (A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6) came back to Coimbatore. In view of all these efforts, Venkatraman (A-1) withdrew Rs. 3 lakhs through Siva kumar (A-2), who 8was his office boy, on 30.7.1993 by a cheque drawn on Thirupur Bank which was got en cashed through Sivakumar(A-2). It is alleged that the amounts were given to Ubaiadulla (A-4) and Yusuf (A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6)and, thereafter, on receiving the money, Sivakumar (A-2) Ubaiadulla (A-4) and Yusuf (A-5) again went to Tiruneveli and stayed at Blue Star Hotel. It is alleged that John Pandian (A-7) arranged the services of Kumars/o Vellaichami (A-9), Pavunraj @ Pavun (A-10) and Prince Kumar @ Prince (A-11) and hired them asassassins. They came to Coimbatore on 2.8.1993 from Tirunelveli and stayed at Vijaya Lodge. It was alleged that at that time Sivakumar (A-2) gave the photo of Vivekanandan to Kumar Vellaichami (A-9), Pavunraj @Pavun (A-10) and Prince Kumar @ Prince (A-11). This photograph was originally a joint photograph of them carriage of deceased Vivekanandan with Sunitha. It was alleged by the prosecution that Venkatraman (A-1) neatly cut that photograph and separated the photograph of Vivekanandan from the photograph of Sunitha which remained with Venkatraman (A-1) and was later on seized by the police. Nothing, however, happened on that day since there was heavy police bandobast at Coimbatore for two days and Vivekanandan was also not in town. Abdul Kareem (A-6) contacted John Pandian (A-7) from STD booth at Ukkadam locality in Coimbatore. It was alleged that Kumar Vellaichami (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) hired a car bearing registration No. TAC5667 of which Ganesan (A-8) was the driver. It was alleged that all the four accused persons went to Ooty and stayed at Arthi Lodge and on the morning of17.8.1993, they proceeded from Ooty and came toCoimbatore and that very morning at about 10.15 a.m. Kumar s/o Vellaichami (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and PrinceKumar (A-11) assaulted deceased Vivekanandan mercilessly with aruval and murdered him on the spot. This incident was seen by one Selvaraj (PW-14), Paramasivam (PW-15)and Ramalingam (PW-16). On that day control room of B-2police station received an information that a person was lying near Richy Rich Restaurant. One Valliappan who was the manager in a company run by Vivekanandan accordingly rushed to the spot, saw the situation and lodged the complaint. On that basis, police started the investigation.
8. The investigating officer, Thiru Rathinasabapathy(PW-56) started investigation. He found on the spot a chappal left by one of the accused persons near the dead body.
9. In order to investigate the offence, he divided the police officers in teams and deployed them to enquire about the accused, the occurrence and the motive there for. He recorded statements of various witnesses including some of the eye witnesses during the investigation in the next 4-5 days. Venkatraman (A-1)was not to be seen. Thiru Rathinasabapathy (PW-56) had recorded statements of friends and all the possible witnesses who could have seen the ghastly incident. Almost all the angles were examined by the investigation officer by recording the statements of number of witnesses including the shop owners, friends and relatives of Vivekanandan. He also seized some documents. On 29.8.1993 at about 2.15 p.m., when he was present at Karuppa Gounder Street near Chellamuthu Fruit Commission Mandy along with Head Constable 509 and other police party, he chanced to see second accused Sivakumar who was going towards North with a cloth bag in his hand. He was arrested at that time and in his bag an amount of Rs. 1 lakh was found. This witness agreed to discover the hidden sum of Rs.21,000/- which was the balance after spending some money out of the amount given by Venkatraman (A-1). The arrest of Sivakumar (A-2) led to the arrest of Abdul Kareem (A-6) and Ubaiadulla (A-4). They also showed their readiness to disclose the incriminating articles including the money. Accordingly, Abdul Karim (A-6) agreed to disclose the two sovereigns of gold chain which he had purchased out of the commission money given to him as commission as also a scooter. The police party was led by Sivakumar(A-2) to his house where an amount of Rs.21,000/- was seized which was kept in a polythene bag. The arrested accused No.4, Ubaiadulla also took the police party to his house and an amount of Rs.23,000/- and a Titan watch was discovered. He also discovered a gold chain along with the receipt of Sri Vignesh jewellery for purchasing that gold chain from Abdul Kareem's house. At about6.30 the police party reached the house of the Venkatraman (A-1). He was arrested. He agreed to discover the photograph of Sunitha and a pair of diamond ear studs purchased for her which he had hidden in a place. He took the police party to his newly built house along with his father from where he took out from a white plastic bag kept in the safe locker a colour photograph of Sunitha which was a counterpart of Vivekanandan's photograph and a pair of diamond ear studs. The police party was then taken by Abdul Kareem(A-6) to Sudarshan Lodge, Udumalpet Dharapuram Road from where the police party arrested Ganesan (A-8). The car in which assailants had travelled, bearing No. TAC 5667,at that time was parked along with Dharapuram Raod on the Northern side of Sudarshan Lodge. The car was searched and the police party found an amount ofRs.13,000/- from beneath the rear seat of the car and the photo cutting of deceased which was kept in a rose colour cover. There was a trip sheet in the car, that was also seized. It was seen from the register of that lodge that someone had stayed in the false name and address, namely, Pandian Palanganatham, Madurai. The STD booth from where the calls used to be made to John Pandian (A-7) was also identified by Abdul Kareem (A-6).It was booth No. 30893. The investigating officer seized the STD calls register roll confirming that number of calls were made to telephone No.72324 of Tirunelveli which was the telephone number of John Pandian (A-7) on various dates like 6.8.1993, 9.8.1993again 6.8.1993, 19.8.1993, 11.8.1993, 13.8.1993 and16.8.1993 etc. There were in all ten calls made of various durations. Yusuf (A-5) surrendered by himself. The auto driver Paraman @ Paramasivam (PW-15) who was the eye witness was also found and his statement was recorded. The documents at Vijayalaxmi Mills of which Venkatraman (A-1) was the owner were seized. Therecords at MLA's hostel in Chennai were also seized. It was then found that Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) had surrendered before Judicial Magistrate and they were taken into custody. The cheque books and the cheque dated 13.7.1993 was also seized. The train reservation records of journey of Sivakumar (A-2),Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf (A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6)were also found by the investigating officer and seized. The records of Vijayalaxmi Lodge were found out. The investigating officer also collected the handwriting ofSivakumar (A-2), Ubaiadulla (A-4), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) and also found out the bank books etc. After the arrest of Pavunraj (A-10) he agreed to discover Rs.2,000/-. He accordingly, discovered thosearticles. So also Prince Kumar (A-11) agreed to discover the amount of Rs. 5,000/- and the photograph ofAnnachi John Pandian (A-7). This was the connection of Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11)with John Pandian (A-7). He took him to his house in Anna Nagar and took out Rs.5,000/-and a gold minor chain weighing 12 gms. The money found out by Pavunraj was kept in a cover on which the words `Vijayalaxmi Mills' had been printed. The investigation was conducted for finding out the correctness of statement made by Ubaiadulla (A-4) and the records of Jankiram Lodge were also seized. The record of Blue Star Lodge, Tirunelvelli were also found out and seized. The owner of the car was also contacted. John Pandian (A-7) surrendered before the Judicial Magistrate. Before that, the investigating officer had also seized the minute books of Coimbatore District Dravidar Kazhagamand Porur Union Dravidar Kazhagam. John Pandian's house was also investigated and it was found that telephoneNo.72324 was in that house only. The Test Identification Parade was got conducted on 28.10.1993 in respect of Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11). The witnesses, namely, Selvaraj (PW-14), Paraman @Paramasivam (PW-15) and Ramalingam (PW-16) took part in that Test Identification Parade.
10. Accused No.9, Kumar was arrested later on. He agreed to discover the aruval with which he had committed the murder. The Identification Parade in respect of Kumar (A-9) was held on 1.11.1993. The material objects seized were sent for chemical analyzer examination in the forensic science laboratory and after completing the investigation the charge sheet was filed on 1.8.1995. The charges were framed and as many as 56witnesses came to be examined on behalf of the prosecution. The accused persons abjured their guilt and were ultimately convicted as has been stated above. Their appeals having been dismissed, the matters are now before us in these appeals.
11. Ms. V. Mohana who appeared for accused Nos. 9, 10and 11, namely, Kumar, Pavunraj and Prince Kumar respectively, extensively argued and pointed out that the evidence regarding their identification and also the evidence of the so-called eye witnesses was not creditworthy. She pointed out that there was no reason for these accused persons who were the residents of Tiruneveli to have any grudge against the deceased. She also pointed out that there was no motive on the part of these accused persons. Her further contention was that barring one eye witness, the other so-called eyewitnesses became available for recording their statement after considerable time and hence they were not creditworthy. Further, her contention was that there was no reason why the natural witnesses were avoided and the three unnatural witnesses came to be offered. Her further contention was that the evidence of witnesses on Test Identification Parade was also not satisfactory and the whole exercise was a farce. She further urged that there was no evidence much less the direct evidence against these accused persons. In so far as the circumstantial evidence was concerned, she pointed out that an effort on the part of the prosecution to connect these accused persons with the crime was of no consequence. The so-called discoveries and the evidence regarding their stay in the hotels or travelling in the car given by Ganesan (A-8) was also of no consequence. She urged for acquittal.
12. Shri Senthil Jagadeesan, learned advocate appearing for Sivakumar (A-2) and Abdul Kareem (A-6) painstakingly took us through the evidence and urged that these accused persons were roped in only on the so-called circumstantial evidence. He pointed out that the prosecution had miserably failed to establish any conspiracy at all and further role played by or connection of these accused persons with that conspiracy. The learned counsel pointed out that the theory of discovery from the accused persons of substantial amount was nothing but a myth and the so-called discoveries made were farcical. He further pointed out that there was no reason for a wealthy and rich person Venkatraman (A-1) to take help of his office boy to contact John Pandian (A-7) and enter into a conspiracy to eliminate the deceased. The learned counsel further argued that the whole prosecution story of conspiracy was on an extremely weak pedestal and had collapsed. The counsel further argued that there was good explanation offered by the accused No.2, Sivakumar for the amounts which were allegedly discovered from his house and the Courts below have looked at the whole affair with jaundiced eyes.
13. Shri E.M.S. Anam, appearing for Ubaiadulla (A-4)urged that there was nothing to support the theory that Ubaiadulla was known as Tamil Selvan also. Learned counsel pointed out that he had no reason whatsoever to be in contact with Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11). He further argued that the evidence regarding his handwriting was also absolutely brittle. He further argued that there was no evidence that this accused ever went to Chennai. He also suggested that the discovery was a farce.
14. Shri Ravi Kumar Tomar, learned counsel appearing for Yusuf (A-5) pointed that that there was no discovery from this witness at all and there was hardly any evidence worth the name against this accused excepting that his name was mentioned in the reservation charts and the reservation slips, that too in a different manner.
15. 15. Shri Shekhar Naphade, learned Senior Counsel appearing for John Pandian (A-7) reiterated that there was absolutely no evidence against him. He pointed out that there was no nexus established between Venkatraman(A-1) and John Pandian (A-7) or Sivakumar (A-2),Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf (A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6) andJohn Pandian (A-7). It was pointed out that John Pandian was a well known political figure and, therefore, the telephone calls made from a particular booth by itself could not be viewed as an in criminating circumstance. Similarly, his photograph being found with Kumar (A-9) was also of no consequence whatsoever. It was pointed out that there was no evidence worth the name available to establish that this accused had stayed in Chennai at MLA's hostel and he met the other accused persons there and hatched the conspiracy. According to the learned counsel much stronger evidence was required for coming to the conclusion that there was conspiracy and this accused was an active member thereof.
16. As against this, Shri K. Ramamoorthy, learned senior counsel urged that this was a case of classic investigation where the investigation officer had left no stone unturned. Learned counsel was at pains to point out that there was a definite aim with which the accused persons moved. Shri Ramamoorthy urged that it was not open to accused to insist on re-appreciation of evidence. He further urged that firstly, the evidence of identification of the three accused persons, namely, Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) was wholly reliable and there was no cross-examination worth the name of the Magistrate or even the witnesses who had identified the accused persons and the evidence was rightly accepted by both the Courts below.
17. We were taken through the evidence against the accused persons painstakingly by Shri Ramamoorthy who pointed out that a person like Sivakumar (A-2) could not be expected to have an amount of over a lakh of rupees which was found with him and the explanation was palpably false. Similar was the case in respect of the other accused persons. Insofar as the eye witnesses are concerned, the learned counsel urged that the statement of one of the eye witnesses was recorded on the same day and he had the opportunity to see the incident in broad day light and the witnesses had correctly identified Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) in the identification parade. According to the learned counsel the photographs of the accused persons were never published. He argued that the very fact that the Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11)came all the way from Tirunelveli and murderously assaulted the deceased suggests that there was a conspiracy. Learned counsel very painstakingly pointed out to us the love angle of this whole theory and pointed out that it was the crush in the mind of the first accused, Venkatraman which has resulted in the whole tragedy. As regards the conspiracy theory the learned counsel urged that there was no explanation by Sivakumar (A-2), Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf (A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6) whatsoever for their suspicious movements. He pointed out that it was very difficult to prove the conspiracy by direct evidence and, therefore, we would have to jot down the circumstances as proved by the prosecution and then come to the conclusion regarding the existence of criminal conspiracy which was correctly drawn by trial and appellate Court. As regards John Pandian (A-7), learned counsel urged that he was the kingpin and his complicity was clear as he was the only person who was known to Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11). Shri Ramamoorthy also pointed out that there was false explanation given of these accused persons in their examination under Section 313, Cr. P. Cand that itself suggested that the accused persons were involved in the matter.
18. It is on this basis of rival claims that we have now to examine the matter to decide whether the conviction of the accused persons is justified.
19. Peculiarly, in this case the accused-appellants can be divided into two groups. The first group is Kumar(A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) [Prince Kumar (A-11) is now no more and the appeal by him has abated] who were involved by the direct ocular testimony and were also part of the conspiracy to murder Vivekanandan. The second group is that of the accused persons being Siva kumar (A-2), Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf A-5) and Abdul Kareem (A-6) and John Pandian (A-7) who are roped in as the conspirators. There is, however, no direct evidence against them insofar as the act of assault on deceased is concerned. Thus, the only difference in the two groups is that while there is direct evidence of the eye-witnesses regarding the assault on Vivekanandan against the first group, there is no such evidence in respect of the second group and the prosecution will have to depend upon the circumstantial evidence of conspiracy against them.
20. We, therefore, propose to consider the matter group-wise. The conviction of Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) will depend upon the evidence of eye-witnesses along with the other circumstantial evidence of their complicity in this crime. However, it cannot be disputed that if the evidence of the eye-witnesses is acceptable wholly as it was held by the trial Court and the appellate Court, then that by itself can become the basis of their conviction. Normally, once the evidence is accepted by the trial and the appellate Court, this Court does not go into the exercise of re-appreciation unless it is shown that the appreciation of evidence by trial and appellate Court is perverse, not at all acceptable to trained judicial mind or so faulty as to require the inference of this Court or that the trial and appellate Court have relied on some in admissible piece of evidence or have left out of the consideration some evidence which they were bound to consider and appreciate. We have seen the evidence and the judgments of trial and appellate Courts very closely so as to satisfy ourselves as to whether the trial and appellate Court have properly appreciated the same and recorded the verdict of conviction.
21. We shall first take up the case of Kumar (A-9),Pavunraj (A-10). Prince Kumar (A-11) now having expired, we need not comment about his complicity which, however, will be necessary to consider while considering the case of Kumar (A-9) and Pavunraj (A-10). The evidence against the three accused basically consists of the eye-witness account by Selvaraj (PW-14), Paramasivam(PW-15) and Ramalingam (PW-16). The prosecution has sought to support this evidence by leading the evidence of the Magistrate who held the Identification Parades for identifying Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11)by witnesses Ramalingam (PW-16), Selvaraj (PW-14),Shanmugasundaram, Nagarajan, Paramasivam (PW-15), M.P.S. Narayanan and Rajan. Out of these witnesses who were asked to identify the said two accused the prosecution has remained content by examining Selvaraj (PW-14),Paramasivam (PW-15) and Ramalingam (PW-16). The prosecution did not examine Shanmug sundaram, Nagarajan,M.P.S. Narayanan and Rajan. This identification Parade was held on 15.9.1993 in Central Prison, Coimbatore. The second Identification Parade was held on 28.10.1993for the identification of Kumar (A-9) by the same seven witnesses. Rajsekharan (PW-54) drew the mahazars wherein it was suggested that Ramalingam (PW-16) had correctly identified Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar(A-11). He identified both the accused persons correctly, twice. The evidence of the witnesses and the mahazars also suggested that Selvaraj (PW-14) correctly identified Prince Kumar (A-11) and Pavunraj (A-10)twice. Similarly, Paramasivam (PW-15) identified Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) twice, like the two earlier witnesses. The mahazar was also proved as Exhibit P-84. This witness also held the Test Identification Parade in respect of Kumar (A-9) on28.10.1993 at the same place. It was deposed by this witness that Ramalingam (PW-16) correctly identified Kumar (A-9) twice. He further deposed that Selvaraj (PW-14) had also correctly identified Kumar (A-9) twice. He also deposed that Paramasivam (PW-15) could not identify Kumar (A-9). Exhibit P-85 is the mahazar of the second Identification Parade held on 28.10.1993.The witness also reiterated that the necessity of identifying twice was on account of the opportunity given to the accused persons to change their clothes after the first identification.
22. The prosecution heavily relied on the evidence of Rajsekharan (PW-54) and Exhibits P-84 and P-85. The third circumstance relied upon by the prosecution is the discovery of aruval (M.O.-1) at the instance of Kumar(A-9) from Hindu Cremation ground along with Udumalpet Road, Pollachi. In that behalf the prosecution relied on the evidence of Rathinasabapathy (PW-56), the investigating officer and Anand (PW-41).
23. The next circumstance relied upon by the prosecution was the engaging of taxi No. TAC 5667 by Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11)which was used by them for travelling from Tirunelvelito Ooty and Ooty to Coimbatore and back via Udumalpet. The prosecution sought to prove through the evidence of Sidhharth (PW-43) that this taxi passed through Ooty through check post at Barliar, Mettupalayam Road on 16-17/8/1993 and thereby the prosecution wanted to provethat these three accused persons along with Ganesan (A-8) (already acquitted by the High Court) were in Ootyand the taxi had paid the toll vide Exhibits P-61 and P-62 on 16.8.1993. The prosecution also relied on Senthil(PW-44) to prove that the accused persons stayed at the night of 16.8.1993 in hotel called Arthi Lodge, Ooty. Page No.1013, Entry No.112 in the register, Exhibit P-63showing the name of Kumar (A-9) and two others was sought to be proved by this witness.
24. It was also tried to be suggested on the basis of the complaint and the First Information Report AnnexuresP-102 and P-103, respectively, the roles played by the three accused persons. Two of them waylaid deceased Vivekanandan and the third assaulted him. This supported the theory that Vivekanandan was assaulted by three persons in all. The next circumstance relied upon by the prosecution is the evidence of Ranjit Check (PW-50) who was the Scientific Officer who deposed that thefootwear left by Kumar (A-9) matched with the footprints of Kumar (A-9). Further the recovery mahazarsand confessional statements by Pavunraj (A-10) under Exhibit P-54 and that made by Prince Kumar (A-11) in Exhibit P-55, two of the accused persons were sought to be connected. It was further suggested that the amount recovered in one of these recoveries was kept in an envelope in which there were printed words `Vijay Laxmi Mills Ltd.'. The further circumstance relied upon was that in taxi No.TAC 5667 in which the three accused persons are alleged to have travelled extensively, cut photograph of Vivekanandan was found along withRs.13,000/- under the back seat. The trip sheet found was also relied upon. These are all the circumstances relied upon against Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11). We will have to, therefore, consider these circumstances also which have been relied upon by the trial and the appellate Courts.
25. There can be no dispute that Vivekanandan(deceased) met a homicidal death. He died on the spot where he was assaulted and had suffered as many as cut injuries on the vulnerable parts of his body like his shoulder, neck, right cheek, occipital region etc. The intention of the assaulters can be gathered from the nature of the injuries. The weapon used was M.O. 1 veechu aruval, a weapon with the handle and with the bent sharp blade.
26. Again this murder took place on the busy road of Coimbatore between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. when there was sunlight and as such, the eye-witnesses had the full opportunity to witness the incident. Exhibit P-102 is the complaint which was given by Valliappan who was none else but the Manager of the company which Vivekanandan was running. This was given at 11 a.m. It was immediately after the investigating officer visited the spot and registered the offence that Ramalingam (PW-16)became available to the police. His statement was recorded only after Valliappan filed the complaint. Therefore, on that count, at least insofar as Ramaling am(PW-16) is concerned, there can be no difficulty. The trial Court and the appellate Court have considered the criticism by the defence that the eye-witnesses had changed the spot inasmuch as the eye-witnesses had referred to the incident having taken place near `Titan Watch Shop' and not `Titan Showroom' which it actually was. The appellate Court, in its elaborate judgment, has also considered few minor and insignificant contradictions regarding the location of auto rickshaw stand and some shops and has held that the incident took place near a restaurant called `Richy-Rich'. The observation mahazar also suggested the same spot only. On that basis, a finding was written that the argument of the defence that the spot was sought to be changedwas rejected. The said argument was addressed before us also. We, however, do not find anything to hold that the prosecution witnesses, particularly, Selvaraj (PW-14) Paramasivam (PW-15) and Ramalingam (PW-16) had changed the spot. In fact, they would gain nothing by changing the spot. One common comment can be made about these witnesses that all of them were totally disinterested witnesses. They had nothing against the accused persons nor were they interested in the accused so as to speak falsehood in order to obtain the conviction. It was argued by Ms. V. Mohana, learned Counsel for the appellant that these three eye-witnesses were the chance witnesses. We do not agree. Ramalingam(PW-16) had every reason to be near the spot as his place of working i.e. Prithvi Jewellers was near the spot. It cannot be forgotten that it was he who informed Valliappan that the deceased was murdered. Some comment can be made about the other two eye-witnesses, who in their evidence, asserted that they used to come on the spot. Selvaraj (PW-14) had specifically stated that he was doing his real estate business and that he along with his two other friends, namely, Shanmugasundaram and Nagaraj, used to assemble at 9'O clock in the morning and would continue to be there till 11 a.m. This witness even used to recognize deceased Vivekanandan. Similarly, Paramasivam (PW-15)used to drive auto and used to keep his auto near the Top Notch Shoe Shop. It is a well known fact that the auto drivers start their day from a particular spot where they usually come and then ply their auto in a particular area. This witness claimed that he used to ply his auto from D.B. Road where the incident took place. So, there is nothing wrong in the witnesses being present where they claimed to be. Ms. Mohana, learned Counsel tried to suggest that these witnesses were the chance witnesses and, therefore, we should discard their evidence on that count. That is not possible. Both the Courts below have relied upon their evidence holding them to be credible witnesses. This Court normally is very slow to take the exercise of re-appreciation of the evidence in such cases. Unless the appreciation by both the Courts below is found to be perverse, unsustainable and basically frivolous, this Court will not go into the exercise of re-appreciation of the evidence. We have seen the evidence very carefully and we do not find any such thing. Therefore, these witnesses cannot be dubbed as the chance witnesses.
27. Other criticism levelled against these witnesses was that the statements of Selvaraj (PW-14) and Paramasivam (PW-15) were not recorded immediately. While the statement of Selvaraj (PW-14) was recorded on20.8.1993, Paramasivam (PW-15) became available for the statement after about 15 days. It is true that the criminal courts would expect the statements of the eye-witnesses to be recorded immediately or with least possible delay. The early recording of the statement gives credibility to the evidence of such witnesses. But then it is not an absolute rule of appreciation that where the statement is recorded late, the witness is a false witness or a trumped-up witness. That will depend upon the quality of the evidence of the witness. Selvaraj (PW-14) has explained that he was afraid and, therefore, did not come to the spot for 2-3 days. That is quite natural. It has come in the evidence of Rathinasabapathy (PW-56), the investigating officer, that he examined the statement of Ramalingam (PW-16) almost immediately after the inquest. As for Selvaraj (PW-14), if the witness did not turn up out of the fear, there is nothing unnatural. In this country, people are not keen to become the witnesses and avoid the police-interrogation. That should have happened with thiswitness. Even the other witness Paramasivam (PW-15)also avoided to go to the police or to be available to the police for 15 days. Though the period of 15 days is rather a longish period, that by itself should not be a reason to disbelieve him. The trial and the appellate Courts have been alive to this situation and have considered this aspect. Our attention was invited to the statement made by Ramalingam (PW-16) to the effect that he asserted that the statements of these two witnesses were also recorded on 17.8.1993, which was not correct. This circumstance was considered by the appellate Court and, in our opinion, rightly. We, therefore, need not go into that aspect. The evidence was severely criticized on the basis that all the three witnesses had contradicted each other. We do not think so. All the three witnesses had given graphic description of the incident. All of them have asserted that first two accused they being Pavunraj @ Pavun (A- 3310) and Prince Kumar @ Prince (A-11) stopped the deceased and the third accused Kumar Vellaichami (A-9)started severely assaulting the deceased. Insofar as role played by these accused persons is concerned, the evidence of all the three eye-witnesses is in consonance with each other and there does not appear to be any reason to discard their evidence. In our opinion, the trial and the appellate Courts are right in accepting their evidence as truthful. There is not a word of cross-examination on the factum of assault and the manner thereof. Therefore, we are not impressed by the argument of Ms. Mohana that the evidence of these three witnesses should be discarded. We do appreciate the argument that the statement of Paramasivam (PW-15) was recorded after about 15 days, however, his evidence appears to be creditworthy. He was frank enough in admitting that he left the place and never came back for15 days to run the auto. If he avoided the police for15 days, there is nothing unusual about it. When we test this fact as against the quality of his evidence, it might be stated that the witness appears to be truthful and was rightly relied upon by the Courts below, ignoring the time taken for recording his statement. Insofar as Ramalingam (PW-16) is concerned, 34his evidence remained unshaken and like the earlier two witnesses, there was hardly any cross-examination.
28. All the three eye-witnesses have been corroborated by the fact that in the Test Identification Parade, they identified the accused persons. Barring Kumar s/o Vellaichami (A-9) who was not identified by one of the witnesses, namely, Parmasivam (PW-15), two other eye-witnesses have been able to identify all the three accused persons. We have very carefully seen the evidence of Rajsekharan (PW-54), the Magistrate, who conducted the Parade. Rajsekharan (PW-54) has deposed that in the first Identification Parade, only Pavunraj @Pavun (A-10) and Prince Kumar @ Prince (A-11) were available. He held the first Identification Parade in respect of these two accused persons on 15.9.1993 i.e. within one month of the incident. In that Parade, both the accused were identified twice by all these three witnesses. He had also included the other witnesses who were claimed to be the eye-witnesses by the police. However, it has come that only these three witnesses were able to identify the accused persons Pavunraj @Pavun (A-10) and Prince Kumar @ Prince (A-11) twice. We are impressed by the fact that even after changing their dresses, when the accused persons again stood for the identification, they were actually identified by all the three eye-witnesses. The second Test Identification Parade was held on 28.10.1993 as till then Kumar s/o Vellaichami (A-9) had not become available. Barring one witness, namely, Paramasivam (PW-15), both the eye-witnesses Selvaraj (PW-14) and Ramalingam (PW-16) were able to identify Kumar (A-9) twice. We have very closely considered the evidence of this witness. There is absolutely nothing which could be pointed out agains tthe evidence being accepted. In our opinion, the trial and the appellate Courts have rightly accepted the evidence of Test Identification Parade, which has the effect of corroborating the evidence of the three eye-witnesses. It was stated that one of the eye-witnesses have failed to identify Kumar (A-9), but that by itself will not be sufficient to view with suspicion the participation of Kumar (A-9). The other two witnesses Selvaraj (PW-14) and Ramalingam (PW-16) have actually identified him as the assaulter. The evidence of Identification Parade need not be viewed as a weak type of evidence as held in State of Uttar Pradesh Vs. Boota Singh & Ors. [1979 (1) SCC 31]. We do not think that the evidence of these three eye-witnesses suffer from any infirmity.
29. Ms. Mohana, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant then urged that in the complaint, the person who assaulted Vivekanandan (deceased), was described as a tall middle aged man and two persons of the lean body of the same age group accompanied him. In the first place, in the absence of evidence of Valliappan who was the maker of the FIR, this contention cannot be appreciated. Nothing has been brought about in the cross-examination of these three witnesses and, more particularly, in the cross-examination of Ramalingam (PW-16) that they had described the assailants to Valliappan and that it was on that basis that he made the report. Ms. Mohana very earnestly urged that it was an admitted position that this description did not fit any of the accused persons. We do not think that the description given by Valliappan could affect the credibility of the evidence of these three eye-witnesses who had the full opportunity to seethe accused persons and who had correctly identified the accused persons in the Test Identification Parades. Ms. Mohana urged that the accused persons were shown to the witnesses earlier and irresponsible suggestions were also thrown to the witnesses that they had seen the photograph of the accused persons in the newspaper. The defence has not brought on record any such newspaper where the photographs of the accused persons were published. On the other hand, we find that Paramasivam(PW-15) had, in a flawless manner, conducted both the Identification Parades and withstood his cross-examination very well. In fact, the eye-witnesses' account supported with by the evidence of Test Identification Parades is more than enough to seal the fate of Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj @ Pavun (A-10) and Prince Kumar @ Prince (A-11).
30. Some other circumstances, however, were brought on record by way of circumstantial evidence against the three accused persons. The most important of these circumstances is the discovery of aruval effected at the instance of Kumar (A-9) from Hindu cremation ground along with Udumalpet Road, Pollachi. This discovery was tried to be proved by the evidence of Anand (PW-41) andPW-56, the Investigating Officer. It was deposed by Anand (PW-41) that while he was standing at the bus stop near Udumalpet Road with one Thirugnanasambadam, a police van came and stopped. An Inspector and some police men and other persons alighted from that van. The said person was the 9th accused, Kumar. The Inspector told Anand (PW-41) that the 9th accused, Kumarwas going to take out and produce a thing for which he was required as witness. He further suggested that the9th accused took all of them to the Hindu cremation ground along with Udumalpet Road, Pollachi and from the Northern corner of that cremation ground at a distance of 50 feet took out the veechu aruval from the thorny bush.
31. Rathinasabapathy (PW-56) supported this version and reiterated that Kumar had surrendered before theJudicial Magistrate No.6, Madurai and, therefore, he gave requisition to Judicial Magistrate on 21.9.93 forconducting his identification parade. He referred to the identification parade held on 29.10.93. Kumar (A-9)gave a voluntary confessional statement before the witness where he had urged that if he was taken he would discover the aruval. The witnesses Jayraman (PW-40) and C.P.Rajan before whom this statement was made, unfortunately left as they had some work and, therefore, he merely recorded their statements. According to him,Kumar (A-9) then took them to the Hindu cremation ground along with Udumalpet Road, Pollachi and in presence of two other Thiruganasambandam and Anand (PW-41) took out a blood stained aruval from thorny bush which was 50feet away from the road on the Northern side in the North East corner of the cremation ground. The said confessional statement has been brought on record vide Exhibit P.56 while the seizure Mahazar has been proved as Exhibit P. 57.
32. Very heavy criticism was leveled by Ms. Mohanaagainst this discovery on account of the fact that while the confessional statement was shown to have been made before two different witnesses, namely, Jayraman and C.P. Rajan, two other witnesses were kept present at the time of actual discovery. We have seen the evidence of Jayraman (PW-40) who has spoken about the confessional statement having been made before him. In fact ExhibitP.56 clearly suggests as also the evidence of this witness that the confessional statement was made by Kumar (A-9). He has also referred to the presence of C.P.Rajan. He was cross-examined extensively by defence. However, there was nothing brought out in cross-examination. It was inspector himself who recorded the statement on 29.10.93. We find nothing suspicious in the evidence of this witness or even in the evidence ofPW-41, Anand. Anand has also stood firm during his cross-examination. As has already been stated earlier, the learned Counsel urged that two different sets of witnesses could not have been used, one for the confessional statement and other for the seizure Mahazar. There is no rule that the same set of witnesses have to be used for both purposes, namely, for the confessional statement and the subsequent discovery n pursuance thereto. Undoubtedly, if the same set of witness is used, the discovery will become more acceptable and would gain credibility as the witnesses who have heard confessional statement would also have opportunity to see that what was confessed has resulted in the discovery in terms of the confession. But where it is found that the witnesses are even otherwise acceptable, there would be no question of rejecting the discovery only on this count. It cannot be forgotten in this case that the common witness PW-56 who was present both at the time of confessional statement and the subsequent discovery of aruval. The Inspector has given a good explanation as to why he did not take the earlier pair of witnesses, namely Jayraman (PW-40) and C.P.Rajan. According to him those two witnesses left on 41account of some work. We do not find this very unusual, particularly, in the circumstances of this case. It has been held by this Court in State of Himachal Pradesh Vs. Jeet Singh [1999 (4) SCC 370] that even if there are no witnesses present and the confession is made only to the Investigating Officer, still the discovery can be accepted. In this case that did not happen. The confessional statement was undoubtedly made before a witness who entered the witness box and offered himself for cross-examination. Therefore, the fact that the confessional statement was made cannot be disputed nor can it be disputed that Kumar (A-9) ultimately discovered the veechu aruval from the cremation ground.
33. It was then urged by the learned counsel that this was a open place and anybody could have planted veechuaruval. That appears to be a very remote possibility. Nobody can simply produce a veechu aruval planted under the thorny bush. The discovery appears to be credible. It has been accepted by both the Courts below and we find no reason to discard it. This is apart from the fact that this weapon was sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and it has been found stained with human blood. Though the blood group could not be ascertained, as the results were inconclusive, the accused had to give some explanation as to how the human blood came on this weapon. He gave none. This discovery would very positively further the prosecution case.
34. This takes us to the other circumstances against accused No.9, Kumar. The prosecution has brought on record that the taxi No. TAC 5667 which was being driven by Ganesan (A-8) had passed through Ooty. The prosecution examined Senthil (PW-44) and Siddharth (PW-43) to prove that the taxi passed through the check post. There is nothing to disbelieve this fact. Therefore, this fact must be accepted that taxi did pass twice through Ooty. This circumstance has been accepted by both the Courts below. It is, therefore, proved that this taxi was in Ooty on 16.8.93. It cannot be disputed that this was the taxi used by three accused persons to travel from Tirunelveli to Coimbatore. There is the evidence led by Senthil (PW-44) to prove that the accused persons stayed in the night of 16-17/8/93 at Hotel Arthi Lodge, Ooty. That circumstance was sought to be proved by proving the entry No.1013 at Page 112 on the Guest Register. The witness suggested that the guests had come on the night of 16.8.1993 at about 7:00 p.m. A person, named, Kumar (A-9) came from Tirunelveli and told his name as Kumar S/o Vellaichamy. He also deposed that there were three other persons accompanying the said Kumar and that they went to the room and left at 6 a.m. on 17.8.93. Unfortunately, for the prosecution though the investigation agency could lay hands on the register, the witness did not identify any of the accused persons and, more particularly, Kumar (A-9). That may be a very slander circumstance. It does further suggest that Kumar (A-9) had stayed in Ooty along with two accused as was suggested in the prosecution case. The criticism was that no accused person was identified by this witness even in the Court. In fact it would have been surprising had the witness been able to identify the accused because he must have met the accused only for a very short time when the accused gave his name and address at Tirunelveli. However, it cannot be a co-incidence alone that the full name of the accused with his address in Tirunelveli should find place in the register of Arthi Lodge. This circumstance also has been accepted by the trial Court and appellate Court and we find no reason to take a different view.
35. The other circumstance against Kumar (A-9) is the evidence of Ranjit Check (PW-50) who was a Scientific Officer. In his evidence he asserted that he was working as Scientific Officer in the Physics Department. He examined M.O.20 which was a colour photograph of deceased Vivekanandan which was found from the taxi in its search. He matched M.O.20 with M.O.17 which was a colour photo of Sunitha, the unfortunate widow of Vivekanandan. He asserted that item Nos.1 and 2 which were the photographs of a male and a female matched with each other and that they were both the cut pieces of one photograph, the colour factor in both the photographs was identical, the rear side of the photograph was matching and he, therefore, opined that items Nos.1 and2 were the parts of one and the same photograph. It must be remembered that the photograph of Sunitha was found from the possession of Vekatraman (A-1) while the photograph of deceased Vivekanandan was found from the taxi in which Kumar (A-10), Pavunraj (A-10) and Prince Kumar (A-11) travelled. He also asserted that the footprint which was found in item No.3 footwear matched with footwear which was found in item No.5 footwear. Hedeposed on examination of the foot prints, the foot print which was found in item No.3 footwear matched with one that was found in item No.5 footwear. Therefore, he asserted that the foot print in item No.3 matched with footprint which was found as item No.5. It must be remembered that this footwear was left behind on the scene of occurrence and was seized by the Investigating Officer on the same day. He, therefore, came to the conclusion in the following aspects:"General measurements2. Shape of fingers3. Shape and size of the bottom of the fingers" He, therefore, opined that left foot print found in itemNo. 3 and the left foot print found in item No. 5footwear had been created by one and the same left foot.Similarly the foot print of the right foot was alsofound to be matching in item Nos.4 and 6. He,therefore, issued a report (Exhibit P.73). We have seen Exhibit P.74 and Exhibit P.75 as also the points of agreement which have been arrived at in respect of both the right and left foot. It seems that there was absolutely no effective cross-examination of this witness nor was the witness cross-examined on the salient features that he deposed to. We do not find any reason to discard this technical evidence. It was proved that the said footwear was left by Kumar (A-9) as it matched his feet and, therefore, we proceed to accept this evidence also. This circumstance will directly connect Kumar (A-9). It was contended by the prosecution that the accused persons travelled in Taxi No. TAC 5667. Once it was proved that the photograph was lying under the back seat of the taxi, the relevance of the taxi and the accused having travelled in the same becomes all the more prominent.
36. Insofar as the other two accused persons are concerned, we need not consider the case of A-11, Prince Kumar since he has already died and his appeal has become infructuous. Insofar as Pavunraj (A-10) is concerned, apart from the fact that he was identified in the identification parade by all the eye witnesses, he was said to have discovered Rs.5000/- from the roof of his house allegedly kept in a cover on which the words` Vijay Laxmi Mills Ltd' had been printed. In the sameen velope there was a photograph of John Pandian. In his deposition, Rathinasabapathy (PW-56) suggested that hehad examined accused Pavunraj when he arrested him and during the interrogation he voluntarily gave a confessional statement at 5.30 p.m. wherein he confessed that he had hidden Rs.2000/- and a gold chain and that when he was taken it was proved. Similarly, the investigating officer deposed about the confessional statement of Prince Kumar (A-11) that if he was taken he would show the place where he had hidden the sum ofRs.5,000/- and photograph of Annachi John Pandian (A-7).Now, it so happened that when these accused persons were taken on 17.9.1993 exactly reverse happened and Prince Kumar (A-11) is said to have discovered Rs.2000/- and a gold chain weighing 12 grams whereas Pavunraj (A-10) is said to have discovered the envelope containingRs.5000/- and photograph of John Pandian. This was obviously a mistake. When we see Exhibits P.113 andP.114 it seems that Exhibit P.113 suggests that the house from where the said amount of Rs.2000/- and the minor chain was recovered in pursuance of the so called confessional statement belonged to one Amalraj. ExhibitP.113 was sought to be connected with Exhibit P.54 which his supposed to be the confessional statement of Pavunraj, while Exhibit P.55 was connected with ExhibitP.114 and this confessional statement. Exhibit P.55 is supposed to have been given by Prince Kumar (A-11).When, however, we see the evidence of PW-56 there is obviously a mix up because according to him while Pavunraj has confessed about Rs.2000/- and a minor chain that seems to have been recovered by Prince Kumar and while Prince Kumar agreed to discover Rs.5000/- and photograph of Annachi John Pandian, the said articles were discovered by Pavunraj. This obvious mix up will compel us to reject both these discoveries. In fact the discoveries of Rs.2000/- and a gold chain would be of no consequence as they cannot be said to have been connected with the crime. On this backdrop of a mix up when we seen the evidence of Jayraman (PW-40), that also does not help the prosecution. However, as we have pointed out earlier, there is sufficient evidence against Kumar (A-9), Pavunraj @ Pavun (A-10) and Prince Kumar @ Prince (A-11) and the trial and the appellate Courts have correctly convicted them for the offence under Section 302 in case of Kumar (A-9) and others with the aid of Section 34 IPC .
37. This brings us to the case of Sivakumar (A-2),Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf (A-5), Abdul Kareem (A-6) and John Pandian (A-7). As has already been stated earlier, the High Court has acquitted Ganesan (A-8), who was convicted by the trial Court. The State Government has not challenged his acquittal, leaving only the other accused persons mentioned above. All these accused persons have been convicted as being the conspirators. Initially, when this appeal was filed, even Venkatraman(A-1), who was convicted, had filed an appeal challenging his conviction. He was also roped in as being a conspirator. Since he has died during the pendency of these appeals, we need not consider his case and his appeal stands disposed of as infructuous. There is no prayer before us to continue his appeal even after his death and as such, his appeal being Criminal AppealNo.454 of 2007 must be held to be in fructuous; however, Venkatraman (A-1) was a major player in the conspiracy according to the prosecution's case. The prosecution pleaded that the idea of elimination of Vivekanandan(deceased) must have been conceived in his mind owing to inability to marry Sunitha (PW-3). Thus, he is painted as the main conspirator who, for his evil desires, roped in Sivakumar (A-2), Ubaiadulla (A-4), Yusuf (A-5), Abdul Kareem (A-6) and John Pandian (A-7). It is the case of the prosecution that he contacted John Pandian (A-7) who was allegedly a powerful leader of a political party and was resident of T