Judgment :- S. Ashok Kumar, J. Sivakumar alias Siva-the appellant in C.A.No.599 of 2001, Manikandan-the appellant in C.A.No.379 of 2001, Rajith @ Rajini-the appellant in C.A.No.368 of 2001 are A1 to A3 respectively in S.C.No.74 of 1999. Dhandapani-the appellant in C.A.No.595 of 2001 is the accused in S.C.No.383 of 1999. A1 and A2 in S.C.No.74 of 1999 were convicted and sentenced by the learned Additional Sessions Judge to undergo R.I. for two years for the offence under Section 148 I.P.C. and also imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/-, in default to undergo R.I. for six months for the offence under Section 302 I.P.C. A3 in S.C.No.74/99 and the accused in S.C.383/99 were convicted and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- in default to undergo R.I. for six months for the offence under Section 302 read with Section 149 I.P.C. and to undergo R.I. for one year for the offence under Section 147 I.P.C. 2. The brief case of the prosecution is as follows:- (i) The accused in S.C.No.383/99 Dhandapani, Murali, A2 and A3 in S.C.No.74/99 Manikandan and Ranjith @ Rajini are small vendors and A2 Manikandan was eking out livelihood by picking waste plastic cups. The deceased Anbalagan is a pick pocketor. All the accused had previous enmity with the deceased as the deceased used to forcibly take money earned by the accused. On 29.06.1997, when P.W.2 Saravanan and P.W.4 Muthukumar were in a tent, P.W.7 Raju, Head Constable, Railway Police Force, who was on duty, shouted at Murali, deceased Anbalagan @ Alagan @ Alagirisamy @ Alagappan and Aruppu Rajan, and the four accused chased them from the platform. Thereafter, P.W.2 Saravanan saw Murali and other four accused pulling the deceased Anbalagan along with Aruppu Rajan and at the request of the deceased, Aruppu Rajan left the scene, whereas Anbalagan was restrained by other five persons. At that time, the accused in S.C.No.383 of 1999 Dhandapani caught hold of his right hand and A3 Rajith @ Rajini caught hold of his left hand, and Murali and A1 Siva @ Sivakumar stabbed the deceased on his neck with a small knife. The occurrence was witnessed by P.W.2 Saravanan, his brother P.W.4 Muthukumar and P.W.6 Mohan and one Selvaraj. The occurrence was witnessed by P.W.2 Saravanan, his brother P.W.4 Muthukumar and P.W.6 Mohan and one Selvaraj. On receiving the stab injuries, the deceased raised an alarm, and the accused Dhandapani and Murali removed his dhoti and threw away the same. The deceased walked for a short distance and fell down near subway and on seeing the same P.W.6 Mohan and Selvaraj left the place. P.W.2 Saravanan and his brother P.W.4 Muthukumar returned to their tent. (ii) When P.W.1 Basheer, an auto driver, was on his way through goods shed road, he saw five or six persons were standing in a group near subway and when he went to near them, he found one person lying in a pool of blood with injuries and when he enquired the other persons present there, they were not able answer him. P.W.1 took the deceased in his auto to the Medical College Hospital, Coimbatore at about 11.00 p.m., where P.W.5 Dr.Parameswaran admitted the deceased and then declared that the deceased was brought dead. He issued Ex.P.6 accident register. (iii) On the next day, on 30.06.1997 at about 05.00 a.m., P.W.15 the Sub Inspector of Police (Law & Order), B-1 Police Station, received death intimation, Ex.P.20, and went to the hospital and collected particulars about the person who had brought the deceased. He went Ukkadam fish market to examine P.W.1 Basheer and obtained Ex.P.1 statement from him. He returned to the Police Station and registered a case in Crime No.110 of 1997 under Section 302 I.P.C. He prepared Ex.P.21 printed F.I.R. and sent the same to the Judicial Magistrate and the copies thereof to the higher officials. (iv) On 30.06.1997, at 07.15 a.m., P.W.16 the Inspector of Police received copy of the F.I.R. and proceeded to the scene of occurrence where he prepared Ex.P.7 observation mahazar and drew Ex.P.22 rough sketch. At the place of occurrence, he seized M.O.3 bloodstained concrete piece, M.O.4 ordinary concrete piece under the cover of Ex.P.8 mahazar. He also seized M.O.5 full hand shirt and M.O.6 white collar dhoti near the scene of occurrence under the cover of Ex.P.9 mahazar. He went to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital where he conducted inquest on the body of the deceased in the presence of the panchayathars and prepared Ex.P.23 inquest report. He also seized M.O.5 full hand shirt and M.O.6 white collar dhoti near the scene of occurrence under the cover of Ex.P.9 mahazar. He went to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital where he conducted inquest on the body of the deceased in the presence of the panchayathars and prepared Ex.P.23 inquest report. He sent the body for postmortem to find out the real cause of the death with Ex.P.2 requisition through P.W.13, Chinnaraj, Police Constable. He examined P.W.2 Saravanan, P.W.4 Muthukumar, P.W.6 Mohan and P.W.7 Raju and Selvaraj and recorded their statements. At about 07.00 p.m., he recovered M.O.8 jatti of the deceased under form 95 through P.W.13 Chinnaraj, Police Constable. (v) P.W.3 Dr. Edwin Joe, Professor, Forensic Department, Coimbatore Medical College Hospital conducted autopsy on the body of the deceased and found as many as nine injuries."INJURIES: 1) Vertically oblique stab wound 1.75 x 0.75 cms. x 2 cm muscle deep on the right posterior parietal region. The lower end of the wound is 5 cms behind and above upper end of right hear. The wound passes obliquely upwards and backwards. The upper end of the wound is blunt. 2. Transverse lacerated wound 2.5 x 1 x 1 cm bonedeep on the left forehead 2 cms above lateral aspect of left eye brow. 3. Traverse stab wound 2 x 0.75 cms. on the lower antrolateral aspect of right side neck. The lateral end of the wound is blunt. The wound passes obliquely downwards jugular vain to a depth of 4 cms. 4. Transversely oblique stab wound 2.25 x 0.75 cms. on the right upper abdomen 1.5 cm. lateral to wound No.5. The lateral end is blunt. The wound passes obliquely upwards backwards and inwards and caused a stab in the pyloric end of stomach 1 x 0.5 cm. x entering into cavity. Total length of the wound tract is 10 cms. 5. Vertically oblique stab wound 2.25 x 0.75 cms on the right upper abdomen 4 cms above and right of umbilicus. The upper end is blunt. The wound passes obliquely downwards and backwards and inwards pierce the mesentery 2 x 0.5 cms. The length of the wound Tract is about 8 cms. 6. Transverse stab wound 2.25 x 0.75 cm. on the right flank 3 cms above the upper margin of right hip bone. The posterior end of the wound is blunt. The wound passes obliquely downwards and backwards and inwards pierce the mesentery 2 x 0.5 cms. The length of the wound Tract is about 8 cms. 6. Transverse stab wound 2.25 x 0.75 cm. on the right flank 3 cms above the upper margin of right hip bone. The posterior end of the wound is blunt. The wound passes transversely inwards and pierce the ascending colon 1 x 0.5 cm. The length of the wound Tract is about 6 cms. 7. Transversely oblique stab wound 2.2 x 0.75 cm on the left upper abdomen 6 cms. above and left of umbilicus. The lateral end of the wound is blunt, omentum was seen protruding out. The wound passes obliquely upwards and backwards cutting. The underlying omentum and anterior aspect of stomach 2 x 0.5 cm and entered in the cavity of the stomach. The length of the wound tract is about 7 cms. 8. The oblique stab wound on the left side abdomen 2 cm below and left of umbilicus measuring 2.2 x 0.75 cms. The upper lateral end of the wound is blunt. The wound passes obliquely inwards and backwards piercing the small intestine 1.75 x 0.5 cm. and coming out. The length of the wound tract is about 6.5 cms. 9. Abrasions seen in the following regions. 4 x 4 cms right deltoid region 3 x 2 cms front of right knee 4 x 2 cms front of left knee 5 X 3 cms back of upper part of the left thigh 8 x 2 cms left cheek 2 x 2 cms lateral aspect of left hip. 10. Stab wound 1.5 x 0.75 cm. x 1 cm. muscle deep in the dorsal web space between left ring and little finger." He gave an opinion that the deceased died due to the multiple injuries sustained by him and he gave Ex.P.3 postmortem certificate. At the time of postmortem, the identity of the body was not known. Thereafter, the Inspector of Police sent Ex.P.4 requisition to include the name of the deceased in the postmortem, which was included as per Ex.P.5 issued by the Doctor. (vi) In continuing the investigation on 05.07.1997, P.W.16 the investigating officer arrested the accused Murali and A2 Manikandan at 11.00 a.m. Murali gave a voluntary statement in the presence of P.W.9 Krishnaraj, Village Administrative Officer and P.W.7 Raju, Head Constable, Railway Police Force. (vi) In continuing the investigation on 05.07.1997, P.W.16 the investigating officer arrested the accused Murali and A2 Manikandan at 11.00 a.m. Murali gave a voluntary statement in the presence of P.W.9 Krishnaraj, Village Administrative Officer and P.W.7 Raju, Head Constable, Railway Police Force. At 02.00 p.m., A2 Manikiandan gave a confession statement, the admissible portion of which is Ex.P.10. He recovered M.O.1 bloodstained knife from Murali under the cover of mahazar Ex.P.24 and M.O.2 bloodstained knife from A2 Manikandan under Ex.P.11 mahazar. He examined P.W.7, Raju, Head Constable Railway Police Force and P.W.9, Krishnaraj, Village Administrative Officer and recorded their statements. He sent both the accused for remand on 12.07.1997. He examined the witnesses and recorded their statements. On 13.07.1997, he examined P.W.3 Dr. Edwin Joe and P.W.5 Dr.Parameswaran and recorded their statements. On 19.07.1997 at 10.00 a.m., P.W.16, the investigating officer, arrested the accused Dhandapani, who volunteered to give a statement, the admissible portion of which is Ex.P.12, which was recorded in the presence of the witnesses one Panneer @ Panneer Selvam and Muthu @ Abdul Kader. He recovered M.O.7 bloodstained full hand shirt under the cover of Ex.P.13 mahazar. On 30.08.1997, P.W.16 arrested A1 Siva @ Sivakumar in the presence of P.W.11 Manikandan and one Siva @ Paramasivam. He sent A1 Siva @ Sivakumar for remand. On 10.09.1997, he arrested A3 Ranjith alias Rajini at 07.45 p.m. and recorded his statement in the presence of P.W.12 Nagaraj and one Immanuvel and sent him for remand. On 12.09.1997, P.W.16, the investigating officer sent a requisition Ex.P.15 to the Court to conduct chemical analysis test. The analyst's report is Ex.P.17. The serological report is Ex.P.18 and another report is Ex.P.19. After completion of investigation, on 30.09.1997, he filed a chargesheet against the accused. 3. On behalf of the prosecution, P.W.1 to P.W.16 were examined, Exs.P.1 to P.24 were marked and M.Os.1 to 8 were produced. 4. When the accused were questioned under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure about the incriminating circumstances found against them in the evidence adduced, they denied the same. 5. After going through the evidence both oral and documentary, the learned Additional Sessions Judge has found the four accused guilty and convicted and sentenced them as referred to above. 6. Heard the learned Counsel appearing for the appellants and the Additional Public Prosecutor and also gone through the records available. 7. 5. After going through the evidence both oral and documentary, the learned Additional Sessions Judge has found the four accused guilty and convicted and sentenced them as referred to above. 6. Heard the learned Counsel appearing for the appellants and the Additional Public Prosecutor and also gone through the records available. 7. P.W.2 Saravanan and P.W.4 Muthukumar are brothers and P.W.2 was employed under a Railway contractor, by name, Rukmankuther and P.W.4 was employed under another contractor, by name, Usman, and they were staying in a tent very near to the place of occurrence. Though both of them are said to be the eyewitnesses for the occurrence said to have taken place on 29.06.1997 night, they had not been examined till 30.06.1997 night. According to the both of them, though they were eyewitnesses to the occurrence, they have not told anybody about what they saw or about the occurrence until they were examined by the Police. 8. P.W.6 Mohan who also claims to be an eyewitnes to the occurrence is also totally unreliable witness. According to him, he is employed as a coolie in Parcel Service at the Railway Station, Coimbatore and on 29.06.1997 after completing his work, when he was coming through the subway, he is said to have witnessed the occurrence. But, during the cross examination, he has admitted that he is not employed within the Railway Station premises, but he is working outside the Railway Station Premises and loading vegetables and also submitted that he has no licence to do Porter work. He has further admitted that he had not told anybody about the occurrence until he was examined by the Police, which is quite against the natural human contact. 9. Another eyewitnes relied on by the trial Court is P.W.7 Raju who is a Constable in Railway Police Force, Coimbatore. According to him, he was on duty on 29.06.1997 from 08.00 p.m. to 12.00 midnight at the Platform of Coimbatore Railway Station and at 09.30 p.m., he saw seven persons standing about 50 feet away from the place where he was doing duty. According to him, they were shouting at each other and he chased them away from the said place. If really P.W.7 was on duty, he should have seen the occurrence that took place adjoining the Railway Track near entrance of the subway. According to him, they were shouting at each other and he chased them away from the said place. If really P.W.7 was on duty, he should have seen the occurrence that took place adjoining the Railway Track near entrance of the subway. At least after the occurrence, he should have come to know about the occurrence and immediately informed either to the Railway Police, whose police station is within the Railway Station or B.1 Police Station which is nearer to the Railway Station. He also admits that he had not told about the incident to anybody till he was examined by the Police. If really the accused and the deceased were causing nuisance at the time of occurrence, he ought to have caught hold of them and produced them at the Railway Police Station. The specific purpose of posting Constables at the Railway premises is to prevent any untoward incident and theft of the properties. If really P.W.7 had seen the occurrence, he could not have kept quiet till he was examined by the Police. 10. A perusal of the records would show that only on 01.07.1997, the Investigating Officer came to know the name of the deceased as Alagan @ Alagappan. In earlier records, Ex.P.2 requisition of the Investigating Officer for conducting postmortem on the body of the deceased and also history of the case attached to the said requisition, it is categorically mentioned that the name of the deceased is not known. If really P.Ws.2, 4, 6 and 7, the alleged eyewitnesses were examined on 30.06.1997 itself, the Investigating Officer would have ascertained the name of the deceased and also the names of the assailants. 11. The occurrence has taken place adjacent to the Goodsshed Road near the entrance to the subway as seen from Ex.P.7 observation mahazar. Till night 11'O Clock, when Cheran Express departs from Coimbatore, there will be passengers coming from and going to the Railway Stations using the subway. Such natural eyewitnesses have not been examined during investigation. The eyewitnesses examined on behalf of the prosecution are not reliable and trustworthy. Therefore, the case of the prosecution against the appellant has not been proved beyond the reasonable doubt and hence the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellants by the trial Court is liable to be set aside. 12. Such natural eyewitnesses have not been examined during investigation. The eyewitnesses examined on behalf of the prosecution are not reliable and trustworthy. Therefore, the case of the prosecution against the appellant has not been proved beyond the reasonable doubt and hence the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellants by the trial Court is liable to be set aside. 12. In the result, the appeals are allowed setting aside the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellants/accused and they are acquitted of the charges. The appellants are set at liberty. Since A-2/Manikandan and A-3/Rajith @ Rajini are in jail, they are directed to be released forthwith, unless they are required in connection with any other case. The fine amounts, if paid by the appellants/accused are directed to be refunded and the bail bonds paid by them are hereby cancelled.