IMPORTANT POINT
The distinction between murder and culpable homicide was clarified, emphasizing the necessity of intent in determining the degree of culpability.

JUDGMENT :

M. Choudhury, J.

1. The present criminal appeal from Jail under Section 383, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [‘CrPC’ or ‘the Code’, for short] is directed against a Judgment and Order 18.05.2022 passed by the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Dibrugarh in Sessions Case no. 72 of 2020. By the Judgment and Order dated 18.05.2022, the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Dibrugarh has convicted the accused-appellant on finding him guilty for the offence of murder and has held that the offence committed by the accused falls within Clause thirdly of Section 300, Indian Penal Code [IPC]. The accused-appellant has accordingly been sentenced under Section 302, IPC to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000/-, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for another month. The accused-appellant has also been found guilty for the offence under Section 447, IPC and for the offence under Section 447, IPC, he has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months. It has been ordered that both the sentences are to run concurrently.

2. The genesis of the trial of Sessions Case no. 72 of 2020 is traceable to a First Information Report [FIR] lodged by one Suraj Naik as the informant before the In-Charge, Borbari Police Out Post of Dibrugarh Police Station at 12-15 p.m. on 13.04.2020. On receipt of the FIR, the In-Charge, Borbari Police Out Post first registered the FIR as Borbari Police Out Post General Diary Entry no. 307 on 13.04.2020 and thereafter, forwarded the FIR to the Officer In-Charge, Dibrugarh Police Station for registering a case under proper sections of law. While forwarding the FIR, the In-Charge, Borbari Police Out Post, Dilip Kumar Kotoki [P.W.8] took up the investigation of the case himself as the Investigating Officer [I.O.]. On receipt of the FIR, the Officer In-Charge, Dibrugarh Police Station registered the same as Dibrugarh Police Station Case no. 629 of 2020 [corresponding PRC no. 916 of 2020 and G.R. Case no. 1376 of 2020] for the offences under Sections 447/302, IPC.

3. In the FIR [Ext.-1], the informant - P.W.1 had inter alia alleged that at about 05-30 p.m. on 12.04.2020, the accused, Siva Karmakar, a resident of Pucca Line, Maijan Tea Estate killed his father, Bhim Nayak by stabbing him on the neck with a scissor in the courtyard of the house of the deceased.

4. During the course of investigation, I.O. [P.W.8] recorded statements of the witnesses under Section 161, CrPC by visiting the place of occurrence [P.O.], that is, the house of the deceased. Prior to institution of the FIR, the family members of Bhim Nayak, in order to provide him medical treatment, took him to the Casualty Department of the Assam Medical College & Hospital [AMC&H] on the date of the incident itself, that is, on 12.04.2020. It has emerged from the materials on record that the deceased was brought to the Casualty Department, AMC&H at a time prior to 05-50 p.m. on 12.04.2020, but the doctors there on examination, declared Bhim Nayak to be brought dead. The particulars of the deceased was forwarded to the Officer In-Charge, Borbari Police Out Post, AMC&H vide an Intimation Letter dated 12.04.2020 [Ext.-7] and on that basis, General Diary Entry no. 302 was registered at 09-30 a.m. on 13.04.2020

5. Prior to lodgment of the FIR, it was also telephonically informed to the In-Charge, Borbari Police Out Post by the Manager of Maijan Tea Estate on 12.04.2020 that one person had been killed in the Pucca Line area of the Tea Estate and on receipt of such telephonic information, one entry was made in the General Diary of Borbari Police Out Post vide General Diary Entry no. 288 dated 12.04.2020. It was pursuant to the General Diary Entry no. 288 dated 12.04.2020, the I.O. [P.W.8] visited the P.O. and recorded the statements of the witnesses available at the P.O. and prepared a Sketch Map of the P.O. [Ext.-6].

6. As the I.O. [P.W.8] learnt on reaching the P.O. that Bhim Nayak had already died, h