Mallika Alias vs State Of Karnataka

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This judgment disposed of connected matters. The same reasons were delivered in the following case.

I Additional District & Sessions Judge vs Mallika @ Savithramma @ Jayamma @ Kala

Headnote AI-drafted · Reviewed and approved

The appellant was convicted by the I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru Rural District, under Sections 302 and 392 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to death for murder and rigorous imprisonment of ten years with fine for robbery. The conviction arose from the alleged murder of Smt. Nagalakshmi on 18.12.2007 by strangulation using an electric wire and twine thread and by administering cyanide, along with robbery of her jewellery and cash, at a choultry room near Ghati Subramanya temple. The case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence as there were no eyewitnesses to the incident.

The matter had previously been remanded by the High Court on the ground that the doctor witness (PW.8) had not been cross-examined. After retrial, the Sessions Court again convicted the accused and referred the death sentence for confirmation under Section 366 Cr.P.C. The appellant challenged the conviction on the grounds that the prosecution evidence was contradictory, unreliable, and interested; that vital circumstances were not proved; that the seized cyanide was not sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory; and that the date of arrest did not align with the date of the offence.

The High Court heard the criminal appeal filed by the accused under Section 374(2) Cr.P.C. and the criminal referred case filed by the Sessions Court under Section 366(1) Cr.P.C. for confirmation of the death sentence, and proceeded to pronounce judgment on 11 March 2024 after reserving the matter on 20 December 2023.

Catchwords: murder · robbery · circumstantial evidence · death sentence · confirmation of sentence · strangulation · cyanide · Section 302 IPC · Section 392 IPC · remand · forensic evidence · identification of stolen articles