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1979 Supreme(Del) 235

High Court Of Delhi
CHANDA - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF DELHI - Respondent
CRIMINAL APPEAL 108 of 1974
Decided On : 11/12/1979

The distinction between culpable homicide not amounting to murder and grievous hurt is that in the former case, there is an intention to cause death or knowledge that the act is likely to cause death, while in the latter case, there is no such intention or knowledge.

Headnote:

CRIMINAL LAW - CAUSING GRIEVOUS HURT - SECTION 325 INDIAN PENAL CODE - INTERPRETATION - DISTINCTION BETWEEN CULPABLE HOMICIDE NOT AMOUNTING TO MURDER AND GRIEVOUS HURT - ENLARGED SPLEEN RUPTURE CAUSING DEATH - NO INTENTION TO CAUSE DEATH OR LIKELIHOOD OF CAUSING DEATH - ACT HELD TO BE SIMPLE HURT PUNISHABLE UNDER SECTION 323 INDIAN PENAL CODE.

Fact of the Case:

Appellants were convicted of causing grievous hurt under Section 325 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code for assaulting the deceased, Kanwar Singh, who died due to a ruptured spleen. The appellants claimed that Kanwar Singh fell and injured himself, and that they were falsely implicated.

Finding of the Court:

The court found that the prosecution witnesses were credible and that the defense witnesses were not. It held that the appellants had assaulted Kanwar Singh, causing him grievous hurt, but that there was no intention to cause death or knowledge that the assault was likely to cause death.

Issues: Whether the appellants could be convicted of causing grievous hurt under Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code when the offense of culpable homicide not amounting to murder had not been made out.

Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the offense of culpable homicide not amounting to murder requires an intention to cause death or knowledge that the act is likely to cause death. In this case, there was no evidence of such intention or knowledge. The court also held that the offense of grievous hurt requires an injury that endangers life under normal conditions. In this case, the injury was not likely to cause death under normal conditions, as the deceased had an enlarged spleen which ruptured and caused his death.

Final Decision: The court partly allowed the appeal, converting the conviction to one under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code for simple hurt and reducing the sentence to nine months' rigorous imprisonment.

G. R. Luthra, J.

( 1 ) THE present appeal is directed against a judgment dated 30th May 1974 of Shri B. B. Gupta, Addl. Sessions Judge, New Delhi convicting each of the appellants in respect of commission of offence punishable under Section 325 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code and sentencing each of them to undergo Rigorous imprisonment for four years and to pay afine of Rs. 200. 00 in default of payment of which to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months.

( 2 ) GHANDA Singh appellant is father of Shambir appellant. They were living in huts near I. N. A. Colony, New Delhi. On 24th August 1973 at about 7-30 P. M. , as the case of the prosecution is, Ghanda Singh appellant was abusing his wife as well as his son Shambir and then tried to beat his wife which was averted on account of intervention of Shambir appellant. Thereafter the said accused Ghanda kept on hurling filthy abuses. Smt. Deweshri Devi, wife of Kanwar Singh, now deceased, who then was living nearby with her husband, requested Chanda not be abuse filthly as ladies were also living in neighbourhood. Instead of restrain Ghanda started abusing Deweshri Devi (Public Witness 6) also. Kanwar Singh, now deceased, intervened and questioned Chanda as to why he was abusing the wife of former, and at the same time pushed latter to go to his hut. Shambir appellant then got up and tried to grapple with Kanwar Singh saying as to why the latter was trying to push his father Ghanda. Fateh Singh (Public Witness I) intervened and separated them. Shambir Singh then went to his hut while Kanwar Singh returned to his own. Ghanda, however, continued with his volly of abuses. There was an utterance from Kanwar Singh or someone else that let the Police be informed and the appellants be got arrested because they were habituated to create mischief. Kanwar Singh thereupon started for informing the Police on the telephone but before he could go he was caught hold of by Chanda from hair and Shambir appellant from front with one hand and with the other hand Shambir started giving fist blows on the right side stomach of Kanwar Singh. When they left Kanwar Singh the latter sat. He, was however, restless. Fateh Singh (Public Witness I) Deweshri Devi (Public Witness 6) and others took Kanwar Singh to Safdarjang hospital where they were advised to take him to All India Institute of Medical. Sciences (hereinafter referred to as Institute ). He was taken to the said Institute where he was declared dead.

( 3 ) SHRI Ganga Datt, S. I. Police, (Public Witness 10) came to know on the telephone from the control room in respect of the said occurrence. He went to the spot from where he learnt that the injured had already been removed to the hospital. He reached the Institute and he was informed that Kanwar Singh had died. He then went to the place of occurrence, recorded statement of Fateh Singh (Public Witness I) which is Ex. Public Witness PW10/a, made an endorsement Ex. Public Witness PWIO/b and sent the same to the Police Station) Defence Colony for registration of the case.

( 4 ) THE appellants in their statements under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 admitted that they were present at their Jhugis. They set up a version which is as follows. Chanda came back from his duty at about 4. 45 p. m. on 24th August 1973. He had given money to his son Shambir appellant to purchase eatables, but the latter had not made purchases. The result was that only Kicheri was prepared for consumption by Chanda. He felt irritated and started abusing Shambir which attracted Kanwar Singh, now deceased. Kanwar Singh walked fastly but slipped in the way and fell down in a drain with his abdomen striving against some bricks on account of which he received injury and was removed to the hospital. According to them they had been falsely implicated by Deweshri Devi, wife of the deceased, on the ground that falling down of Kanwar Singh was a direct result of trouble between the appellants.

( 5 )













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