The central legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the nature of the injury inflicted and the appellant's intention and knowledge in determining the appropriate categorization of the offense under Section 304IPC or Section 325IPC.

A.P. Subba, J.

1. This appeal is directed against the Judgment and Order dated 10.5.2004, passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Morigaon, in Sessions case No. 45/2003, convicting the appellant under Section 304IPC and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 8 (eight) years and a fine of Rs. 1,000/- in default to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for 2 (two) months.

2. The prosecution case, in a nutshell, is as follows:

On 28.2.2002, at about 2.00 p.m., the appellant and his wife trespassed into the fishing pond of the informant and started fishing with a fishing net. The deceased who was the mother of the informant on seeing the appellant and his wife fishing in the said pond came there to resist them. On such resistance being put up by the deceased a quarrel ensued in the course of which the appellant fetched an axe for his nearby residence and delivered a blow with his axe on the head of the deceased causing a grievous injury. On an ejahar being lodged by the informant Laharighat P.S. Case No. 27./2002 under Section447/326 IPC was registered and investigation was taken up. The appellant who had fled away after assaulting the deceased with the axe was captured by VDP persons and handed over to the police. The deceased who was immediately removed to Laharighat PHC for medical care and attention was forwarded to Morigaon Civil Hospital from where she was referred to Gauhati Medical College Hospital. However, because of lack of proper resources to carry on the medical treatment of the deceased at Gauhati Medical College Hospital the deceased was brought back to Laharighat PHC where she succumbed to her injuries on the same day. On completion of the investigation the Police submitted charge sheet under Section 447/302/301IPC against the appellant. The wife of the appellant having absconded the appellant alone faced the trial. The plea of the appellant at the trial was one of denial. To bring home the charge against the appellant the prosecution examined 9 witnesses in all out of which two of them turned hospital. On completion of the trial the learned Sessions Judge found the appellant guilty under Section 304 FPC and passed the sentence as already noted above.

3. Mr. D.C. Borah the learned Counsel for the appellant and Mr. B.S. Sinha, learned Public Prosecutor for the State of Assam were heard.

4. Without questioning the finding arrived by the learned Sessions Judge that the appellant was responsible in causing the grievous hurt on the head of the deceased with the axe blow the learned Counsel for the appellant contended that the offence committed by the appellant was one punishable under Section 325 of the IPC and not under Section 304 of the IPC as held by the learned trial Court. It was his submission that the appellant committed the offence without any intention to cause the death of the deceased nor had he the knowledge that the injury he inflicted was likely to cause the death of the deceased. The learned Public Prosecution did not strongly counter the above submission of the learned Counsel for the appellant. It was very fairly conceded by him that keeping in view the weapon with which the appellant was armed and the nature of the injury caused by him it would be unreasonable to come to any conclusion that the appellant had any intention to cause death or that he had the knowledge that by his act he was likely to cause death.

5. Having regard to the above respective contentions raised by the parties the limited question that falls for consideration of this Court is whether the case of the appellant falls under Section 304 IPC as held by the learned trial court or it falls under Section 325 IPC as contended by the learned Counsel for the appellant. The pertinent question that arises in this regard is whether the injury inflicted by the appellant can be categorized as one which is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. The medical evidence that has been brought on record is inconclusiv