IMPORTANT POINT
The court clarified that mere teasing does not constitute grave provocation sufficient to reduce a murder charge under Exception 4 of Section 300 IPC.

JUDGMENT :

M. Thakuria, J

Heard Dr. B. N. Gogoi, learned Amicus Curiae for the appellant. Also heard Ms. B. Bhuyan, learned Senior Counsel and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State respondent and Mr. S. H. Mahmud, learned Amicus Curiae for the respondent No. 2/informant.

2. This jail appeal, under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is preferred against the judgment & order dated 24.02.2021, passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Baksa, Mushalpur, BTAD, Assam, in Sessions Case No. 114/2019, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, whereby the accused/appellant has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) only and in default, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for 1 (one) year for the offence under Section 302 IPC.

3. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 05.03.2019, one Uday Ekka, Village- Uttar Diringapur, lodged an F.I.R. before the Officer-In-Charge of Barbari Police Station alleging that on the same day, at around 2.30 p.m., while his minor son- Rajen Ekka, aged about 7 (seven) years, was playing in his nearby homestead gate after returning from school, the accused-Albish Banda of the same village all of a sudden came and hacked him to death with a dao. Upon receipt of the said F.I.R., the Officer-In-Charge, Barbari Police Station registered a case, being Barbari P.S. Case No. 14/2019, under Section 302 IPC, and endorsed S.I. Samiran Das to take up the investigation.

4. During investigation, the I.O. visited the place of occurrence, drawn the sketch map, recorded the statement of the witnesses and also arrested the accused/appellant. The accused was also produced before the learned Magistrate for recording his statement under Section 164 Cr.P.C., wherein he confessed his guilt.

5. Thereafter, on completion of investigation, the I.O. laid Charge-Sheet against the present accused/appellant under Sections 302 IPC, vide Charge-Sheet No. 16/2019, dated 30.04.2019, before the Court of learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Baksa, Mushalpur and the learned Magistrate accordingly took cognizance of the offence and committed the case before the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Baksa, Mushalpur being the charged penal Section 302 IPC exclusively triable by the Court of Session. Accordingly, learned Sessions Judge, Baksa, after considering the materials available on record and also finding prima facie case, framed charge against the present accused/appellant under the aforesaid Section. The charges were read over and explained to the accused/appellant, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.

6. During the trial of the case, the prosecution examined as many as 6 (six) numbers of witnesses including the I.O. and the Medical Officer, who conducted the post-mortem examination on the deceased. The learned Magistrate, who recorded the confessional statement of the accused/appellant, was also examined as court witness/CW-1. The accused was also examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. Thereafter, the learned Sessions Judge, Baksa, after hearing the parties and on perusal of the materials available on records, vide judgment & order dated 24.02.2021, in Sessions Case No. 114/2019, convicted the accused/appellant under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him, as aforesaid.

7. On being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid impugned judgment & order dated 24.02.2021, passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Baksa, Mushalpur, BTAD, Assam, in Sessions Case No. 114/2019, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, the present appeal has been preferred by the accused/appellant from jail.

8. Mr. Gogoi, learned Amicus Curiae for the appellant, submitted that though, on the day of incident, the appellant went to the place of occurrence carrying a dao, but he went there only with a view to collect some sour fruit (tenga). And, when the deceased, along with some others, started taunting him, he got angry with such kind of pro