JUDGMENT:

C.Praveen Kumar, J.

The sole accused in Sessions Case No.114 of 2012 on the file of the learned VII Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Court), Visakhapatnam, is the appellant herein. He was tried for an offence punishable under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code (‘I.P.C.’) for causing the death of one Gampa Narsimha Naidu (hereinafter referred to as ‘the deceased’) on the morning of 07.03.2011 between 7:00 A.M. and 7:30 A.M., in the water channel passing through the paddy crop of the deceased. Vide judgment, dated 30.01.2015, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the accused for the offence punishable under Section 302 I.P.C. and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/-, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months.

2. The facts, as disclosed in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, are as under:

PW.1 is the son and PW.2 is the wife of the deceased. The accused, deceased and PW.3 are their relatives. All of them are residents of Vakapadu Village. A day prior to the incident, the accused is said to have raised a dispute with the deceased, regarding usage of water and also grazing of cattle in his fields. On 07.03.2011 a