JUDGMENT

T.S. Thakur, J. —

1.This appeal by special leave arises out of an order passed by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in Criminal Appeal No.9 of 1996 and confirmation No.21/1996 whereby the appellant’s conviction and sentence for an offence punishable under Section 302 RPC has been upheld and the appeal filed by the appellant dismissed.

2.Briefly stated, the case of the prosecution is that on 13th April 1992, the deceased Shri Kola Ram along with his brothers, Shri Balwant Raj and Tirath Ram the appellant and a large number of other people belonging to Village Nagri Parole, Tehsil and District Kathua were returning home after celebrating Baisakhi Mela at Arawan a village at a distance of a few kilometers from Nagri. The mela goers from the village had it appears formed a small procession and were dancing their way back to the beats of a drum. The prosecution case is that when the participants reached near a rice mill, owned by one Shri Dharampal, the deceased, Kola Ram who was also one of the revellers trampled the foot of the accused-appellant, Narinder Kumar. This led to exchange of hot words and abuses between the deceased and the appellant. Other members of the party inte