The intention of the accused must be judged in the light of what he supposed to be the circumstances, and he cannot be guilty of culpable homicide if his intention was directed only to what he believed to be a lifeless body.

Napier, J.

1. The accused has been convicted of the murder of his wife. The evidence shows that on Wednesday the 23rd of October 1918 at about 4 or 5 raligais before sunset she was seen by prosecution 6th witness weeping and she said that her husband had beaten her. The witness told her to go home, promised to send for her father and then went to the father himself, who lived in another hamlet of the same village a mile away a little before sunset, and told him of the occurrence. After sunset the father, prosecution witness No. 2, sent his son, prosecution witness No. 3, and his son in law, prosecution witness No. 4, to the house where his daughter was living. Their evidence is that they arrived at the house at 4 or 5 nalig is after sunset and that Just outside the door they found the mother and the brother of the accused in the vasal and that the mother was remonstrating with her son inside, saying do not beat a woman According to their evidence they did not hear any cries inside the house at that time After they waited a few minutes the accused opened the door and came out. They say they went inside and found Ramayee lying dead on the floor with a ploughshare lying near her. They say they at once went and told Rasa Gaundan, who lives two doors off from the accuseds house, to go and call their father, prosecution witness No 2. Rasa Gaundan, prosecution witness No. 5, says that he went and informed prosecution witness No. 2, who at once came and found his daughter lying dead at about 10 or 11 oclock in the night. Prosecution witness No, 2, says that he taxed the accused with the murder of his daughter and the accused said she hanged herself. Prosecution witness No. 2 further says that he went to the Monigar and reported, but the Monigar was busy with a procession and only promised to report. He thought that the Monigar was endeavouring to hush the matter up, so he went to report the matter to the Police himself at Kodumudi 3 or 4 miles away and laid a complaint. This complaint was recorded at 9. 15 a.M. the next morning. That the Monigar was endeavouring to hush the matter up there can he no doubt, for it is clear that he sent no report to the Police what scever as was his duty to do. The accused told a story to the effect that he came bark early in the evening to get his meals and found his wife banging with a rope sied to the roof, and he calls two witnesses who say that the accused came and told them that his wife would not let him in and they went in with him and found his wife hanging from a beam. I do not think there can be any doubt that the deceased was hanged, but the evidence of the two defence witnesses is so discrepant that it is impossible to believe their version of the occurrence. The medical evidence shows that the woman had received a severe blow on the side of her head which would probably have rendered her unconscious, and it also shows that she died of strangulation which may have been the effect of hanging. That she hanged herself is impossible because, as pointed out by the Medical Officer, the blow on the head must have produced unconsciousness, and therefore, she could not hang herself. I am satisfied on the evidence of the following facts: that the accused struck his wife a violent blow on the head with the ploughshare which rendered her unconscious, that it is not shown that the blow was likely to cause death and I am also satisfied that the accused hanged his wife very soon afterwards under the impression that she was already dead, intending to create fale evidence as to the cause of the death and to conceal his own crime. The question is, whether this is murder.

2. Section 299 of the Indian Penal Code provides: Whoever causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing...such bodily injury as is likely to cause death...commits the offence of culpable homicide," and Section 300, Clause 3, provides that "if it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily