The court established that actions taken under extreme provocation can qualify as culpable homicide, not amounting to murder, thereby modifying the conviction accordingly.

JUDGMENT :

N. ANAND VENKATESH, J.

The sole accused has filed the present appeal challenging the judgment passed by the Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Tiruchirappalli District, made in S.C.No.8 of 2019, dated 05.09.2023, convicting and sentencing the appellant in the following manner:

The above sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

2. The case of the prosecution is that the accused was married to the deceased in the year 2007 and they had two children. It is alleged that the accused person is a drunkard and he used to harass the deceased for physical intercourse regularly and he also used to physically abuse her. This was informed to the relatives and they attempted to pacify the parties. On 04.04.2018, the accused person is said to have once again forced the deceased for physical intercourse and since she refused, he is said to have insulted her by questioning her fidelity and also threatened her that she will be killed. This was informed by the deceased to her relatives. On the fateful day, on 09.04.2018, the accused person had again harassed the deceased to have physical intercourse and since she refused, he questioned her integrity and beat her with MO3 and the deceased fell down and thereafter, the accused attacked her with MO1 – aruval and caused her death.

3. PW4 and PW5, who are the children of the accused and deceased, found their mother lying in the floor next day morning and informed the same to PW8, who is neighbour. He came to the house and found that the deceased was lying in the floor with blood splashed all over. PW8 informed the same to PW11, who is the sister of the deceased and was also working in the Police Department. The sister of the deceased came along with her husband to the scene of occurrence.

4. PW1, who is the cousin brother of the deceased, gave a complaint (Ex.P1) to PW16 and in turn, the FIR came to be registered by PW16 in Crime No.60 of 2018 for offence under Section 302 of IPC.

5. PW18 took up investigation and went to the scene of crime at about 9.30 AM on 09.04.2018 and prepared the observation mahazar (Ex.P2) and rough sketch (Ex.P10). He also collected MO2 to MO5 from the scene of crime under Athatchi (Ex.P11). He thereafter conducted the inquest on the dead body of the deceased in the presence of panchayatars and prepared the inquest report (Ex.P18). The body of the deceased was sent for postmortem through PW17 and the postmortem was conducted by PW14, who issued the postmortem certificate (Ex.P8) wherein the following injuries were noted:

“Following ante mortem injuries present

1.Irregular, reddish brown coloured graze abrasion 7 × 6 cm on upper part of right side of chest, 0.5 cm below right clavicular region;

2.Blood-stained, gaping, oblique stab injuries, three in number, 2 × 0.2 × 1 cm, 2 × 0.2 × 1 cm and 2 × 0.2 × 1 cm on front of left shoulder; all the three injuries were placed 2 cm apart; their direction was backwards and downwards;

3.Blood-stained, gaping, obliquely horizontal cut injury 9 × 0.2 × 2 cm on front of lower jaw region; it was 4 cm long on right side of chin and 5 cm long on left side of chin; on examination, complete cut fracture and separation of underlying mandible bone, with surrounding dark red extravasation of blood;

Neck

4.Multiple, overlapping, linear, reddish brown coloured abrasions of various sizes on front and both outer aspects of entire neck;

5.Blood-stained, gaping, horizontal cut injury 11 × 0.2 × 2 cm on front of upper part of both sides of neck; it was 4 cm long on right side of neck and 7 cm long on left side of neck; it was 2 cm below Injury No. 3;

6.Blood-stained, gaping,