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2016 Supreme(Mad) 2440
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
S.NAGAMUTHU AND V.BHARATHIDASAN, JJ.
Nishanth @ Thambu - Appellant
Vs.
State by Inspector of Police - Respondent
Criminal Appeal No.242 of 2016
Decided on : 03-08-2016
For the Appellant : Mr. R.Karthikeyan, Mr. T.Shanmugam
For the Respondent: Mr. M.Maharaja Additional Public Prosecutor
The judgment established the principle that in cases where the direct causation of death is not conclusively proven, the accused may be charged and punished for a lesser offence under the Indian Penal Code.
Headnote:
Section 302 IPC - Assault and Death - 302 IPC - Summary
Fact of the Case:
The appellant was convicted under Section 302 IPC for assaulting and causing the death of the deceased during a quarrel at a bus stop. The prosecution presented evidence of witnesses and medical reports to establish the sequence of events leading to the deceased's death.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that while the accused caused the external injury to the deceased's head by pelting a stone, it could not conclusively prove that the accused's actions directly caused the death. The court referred to a similar case and concluded that the accused could only be punished for an offence under Section 323 IPC for causing hurt to the deceased's head.
Issues: The key issue was whether the accused's actions directly caused the death of the deceased.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the lack of conclusive evidence linking the accused's actions to the deceased's death and referred to a similar case to determine the appropriate charge and punishment.
Final Decision: The appellant's conviction and sentence under Section 302 IPC were set aside, and instead, he was convicted under Section 323 IPC. The period of sentence already undergone was treated as sufficient punishment, and the accused was ordered to pay Rs.50,000 as compensation to the deceased's dependents.
S.Nagamuthu, J.
The appellant is the sole accused in S.C.No.50 of 2014 on the file of the learned District Sessions Judge, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. He stood charged for offence under Section 302 I.P.C. By judgment dated 17.03.2016, the trial Court convicted him under Section 302 I.P.C. and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs.2,000/- in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months. Challenging the said conviction and sentence, the appellant is before this Court with this appeal.
2. The case of the prosecution in brief is as follows:
2.1. The accused in this case, is a resident of Manjanakorai Burn Hill in Ooty. The deceased in this case also belongs to the same locality. On 01.07.2012, the accused and the deceased travelled in a mini bus from Ooty towards Manjanakorai Burn Hill. The bus came to a halt at Manjanakorai Burn Hill bus stop. The passengers from the bus tried to push each other to get down first. The accused, by mistake, dashed against the deceased while both were getting down from the bus through the same entrance. The deceased got down followed by the accused. The deceased shouted at the accused as to how dare he was to dash against him when he was getting down from the bus. He further shouted as to whether the accused was such a big rowdy. The accused replied that he was a big rowdy. The accused slapped the deceased on his right cheek. The deceased retaliated. When the fight was going on, suddenly it is alleged, the accused took out a small stone lying there and pelted the same on the deceased. It hit the head of the deceased. The accused also kicked the deceased on his testicles. The fellow passengers, separated them. The accused went to his house.
2.2. The deceased, after a short while, fainted. The people in that locality informed his wife (P.W.5). She rushed to the place of occurrence, took the deceased to the hospital in an Auto and admitted him as in-patient. At around 01.30 a.m. on the next day, the deceased died in the hospital. When the deceased was undergoing treatment at the Government Hospital, Ooty, on receiving intimation from the hospital, P.W.11 the then Sub Inspector of Police went to the hospital, since the deceased was unconscious, he could not record his statement. He went to the place of occurrence and recorded the statement of P.W.1 and on returning to the police station, he registered a case in Crime No.671 of 2012 under Section 324 I.P.C. against the accused. Ex.P.1 is the complaint and Ex.P9 is the F.I.R. He forwarded both the documents to Court, which were received by the learned Magistrate on 02.07.2012 at 10.15 a.m.
2.3. P.W.11, took up the case for investigation. He went to the place of occurrence, prepared an observation mahazar and a rough sketch in the presence of P.W4 and another witness. He examined few witnesses from that locality. While so, on 02.07.2012 at 01.30 a.m. P.W.11 received intimation from the hospital that the deceased had died. Therefore, he altered the case into one under Section 302 I.P.C. and submitted an alteration report to the Court.
2.4. The investigation was thereafter taken over by P.W.14. He went to the hospital, conducted inquest on the body of the deceased and forwarded the same for postmortem. On the same day, at 02.00 p.m. he arrested the accused in the presence of witnesses. On such arrest, he gave a voluntary confession, in which he disclosed the place where he had hidden the stone. In pursuance of the same, he took the police and the witnesses to the place of hideout and produced M.O.1 stone. Then, he forwarded the accused to Court for judicial remand.
2.5. P.W.12, Dr.Rajkumar conducted autopsy on the body of the deceased on 02.07.2012 at 11.30 a.m. He found the following injuries:
“A sutured wound of 4 cm length present in the left parieto occipital region of scalp. No other external injuries.
Internal Examination: No free fluid in peritoneal cavity. Stomach filled with 100 ml of gastric juice. Inte
