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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Chandramauli kr. Prasad and Kurian Joseph, JJ.
Chenda @ Chanda Ram — Appellant(s)
versus
State of Chhatisgarh — Respondent(s)
Criminal Appeal No. 1285 of 2013
[Arising out of S.L.P. (Criminal) No. 3028 of 2012]
Decided on : 27-8-2013
Indian Penal Code - Section 300- Exception 4- There is only one hit. There is nothing to show that there was any cruelty involved by inflicting any other injury or by any other conduct on the part of the appellant so as to hold that the appellant was taking any undue advantage of the situation or that he behaved in a cruel or unusual manner. (Para 16)
Indian Penal Code - Section 302 –Punishment- We have to analyse the factual position as to whether the appellant had the intention to cause death, or whether he only had the knowledge about the injury which is likely to cause death. We have to also analyse the manner in which the injury is caused and the provocation for the same. (Para 16)
Indian Penal Code - Sections 300, 304 - Exception 4- If the case falls under Exception 4, then the further inquiry should be as to whether the case falls under the first part of Section 304 or the second part. (Para 8)
Indian Penal Code - Section 304 - Second part- The incident has taken place on the spur of the moment. There is no evidence regarding the intention behind the fatal consequence of the blow. There was only one blow. The accused is young. There was no premeditation. The evolution of the incident would show that it was in the midst of a sudden fight. There is no criminal background or adverse history of the appellant. It was a trivial quarrel among the villagers on account of a simple issue. The fatal blow was in the course of a scuffle between two persons. There has been no other act of cruelty or unusual conduct on the part of the appellant. The deceased was involved in the scuffle in the presence of his wife and he had actually been called upon by her to the spot so as to settle the score with the accused persons. The deceased had, in the scuffle, overpowered the first accused. That first accused was acquitted. Thus, considering all these aspects, we are of the view that it is a fit case to alter the punishment of imprisonment for life to imprisonment for a period of 10 years with fine of Rs.50,000/-. (Para 17)
Facts of the case:
A child, son of the deceased, threw a stone on a cat, which, while jumping, landed on the terrace of the first accused where he had kept his gram. The boy was scolded badly and the first accused beat him with a cane. Hearing his loud weeping, his mother reached the spot and there was a verbal altercation between her and the first accused. She told the child to call his father. There was a scuffle between the father of the child and the first accused and the appellant, in the meanwhile, the appellant struck the head of the father of the child with a tekani (piece of wood) used for supporting bullock carts. He fell down immediately. The neighbours shifted him to his house, thereafter to the District Hospital and, from there, to the hospital of the Bhilai Steel Plant at Bilaspur where he died nearly four hours after the incident.
Findings of the Court:
The trial court has rightly convicted the appellant under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced him for life imprisonment.
JUDGMENT
Kurian, J.:
Leave granted.
2. ‘Homicide’, as derived from Latin, literally means the act of killing a human being. Under Section 299 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Code’), homicide becomes culpable when a human being terminates the life of another in a blameworthy manner. Culpability depends on the knowledge, motive and the manner of the act of the accused. The offence is punishable under either Section 302, or Section 304 which consists of two parts. In the case before us, we are called upon to examine the nature of the offence of culpable homicide for which the appellant has been convicted by the Trial Court under Section 302 and sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal was dismissed by the High Court.
3. It is sad and unfortunate that the epicenter of the matter is a simple quarrel on a trivial issue – a cat was chased away by the child of the deceased and, in the process, it landed on the terrace of the first accused where some gram was kept for drying. The appellant before us is the second accused who inflicted the fatal blow. The first accused who initiated the quarrel was, however, acquitted of the charges under Section 302 read with Section 34, for want of evidence.
BRIEF FACTS
4. On 26.02.1993 at about 04.00 P.M., one master Kishore Kumar, son of the deceased Ramgulal, residing in a remote village Deori Tola in district Durg, presently in Chhattisgarh State, threw a stone on a cat, which, while jumping, landed on the terrace of the first accused Anjoriram where he had kept his gram. The boy was scolded badly and one Chanda Ram beat him with a cane. Hearing his loud weeping, his mother Heminbai reached the spot and there was a verbal altercation between her and the accused. She told the child to call his father Ramgulal. There was a scuffle between Ramgulal and Anjoriram and the appellant-Chenda alias Chanda Ram, in the meanwhile, struck the head of Ramgulal with a tekani (piece of wood) used for supporting bullock carts. He fell down immediately. The neighbours shifted him to his house, thereafter to the District Hospital and, from there, to the hospital of the Bhilai Steel Plant at Bilaspur where he died at about 08.25 P.M., nearly four hours after the incident. Based on the report from the District Hospital, the case was initially charged under Section 307 read with Section 34 and afterwards, it was converted to Section 302 read with Section 34. Anjoriram is the first accused and the appellant Chanda Ram, the second. Nineteen witnesses were examined of which four are eye witnesses including the wife and child of the deceased. The Sessions Court entered a finding that the appellant Chanda Ram had the intention of killing Ramgulal when he hit on his head with a weighted tekani due to which he suffered serious head injury involving five fractures and, hence, he was convicted under Section 302. However, taking note of the age of the accused as twenty three years and other circumstances, the appellant was awarded life imprisonment. The first accused Anjoriram was acquitted for want of any evidence in relation to the act leading to the death. In appeal, as per the impugned judgment dated 18.06.2010, the High Court concurred with the findings of the Sessions Court and held that:
“16. From the overall evidence available on record, we find that the quarrel started when the stone pelted by child Kishore Kumar for hitting the cat fell on the terrace of Anjoriram where gram was kept. While Anjoriram was engaged in scuffle with Ramgulal, who came much after the initial quarrel of beating of Kishore Kumar and quarrel with his mother Heminbai, the appellant picked up a heavy wodden plank use for support of bullock cart and assault the deceased on his vital part head with such force that he sustained fracture of both parietal bones, fracture of nose and fracture of occipital bones and died just four hours after the assault. We are unable to accept the argument of learned counsel for the app
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