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2022 Supreme(Ori) 448
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
S. Muralidhar, Chittaranjan Dash, JJ.
Sirish Chandra Mohanta – Appellant
Versus
State of Odisha – Respondent
CRA No. 105 of 2002
Decided On : 29-09-2022
Ms. Bini Mishra, Advocate, for the Appellant; Mrs. SaswataPatnaik Addl. Govt. Advocate, for the Respondent
The central legal point established in the judgment is the application of legal exceptions to Section 300 IPC, specifically Exceptions 2 and 4, to determine the nature of the offence and the appropriate conviction.
Headnote:
Section 302 IPC - S.C. and S.T. (P.A.) Act - [Section 302 IPC, Section 3(2)(v) of the S.C. and S.T. (P.A.) Act] - The court discussed the elements of the case, the intention of the accused, and the application of Exceptions 2 and 4 to Section 300 IPC. It referred to legal precedents to support its decision to convert the conviction from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 Part II IPC.
Fact of the Case:
The case involved the murder of Nanduru Ho in a cashew orchard, leading to the conviction of the present Appellant under Section 302 IPC read with Section 3(2)(v) of the S.C. and S.T. (P.A.) Act. The trial Court concluded it as a case of murder under the thirdly clause of Section 300 IPC.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the accused did not have the intention to cause death and that the act was a result of sudden fight and grave provocation, leading to the application of Exceptions 2 and 4 to Section 300 IPC. Consequently, the conviction was converted from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 Part II IPC.
Issues: The key issues revolved around the intention of the accused, the application of legal exceptions, and the sufficiency of evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the lack of intention to cause death, the sudden fight, and grave provocation, leading to the application of Exceptions 2 and 4 to Section 300 IPC, and the conversion of the conviction to Section 304 Part II IPC.
Final Decision: The conviction of the present Appellant was converted from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 Part II IPC, and the sentence was confined to the period already undergone, leading to the discharge of the bail bond of the Appellant.
JUDGMENT
Dr. S. Muralidhar, CJ. - This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 12th April, 2002 passed by the Special Judge, Mayurbhanj, Baripada in T.C. No.4 of 2001 arising out of G.R. Case No.149 of 2000 convicting the present Appellant for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC read with Section 3(2)(v) of the S.C. and S.T. (P.A.) Act, 1989 and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life.
2. It must be mentioned at the outset that along with the present Appellant, nine other accused persons were sent up for trial for committing the murder of Nandru Ho. However, the present Appellant wasconvicted for the offence under Section 302 IPC read with Section 3(2)(v) of the S.C. and S.T. (P.A.) Act as well as two others namely, Raika@MadanMohantaand JayahariMohanta who were convicted for the offence under Section 323 IPC and sentenced to pay a fine of Rs.400 and in default to undergo simple imprisonment (SI) for fifteen days.
3. The case of the prosecution was that one ManikarPatra (PW 1) came to Karanjia Police Station (PS) and lodged a report to the effect that on 26th April, 2000 at 12 noon certain villagers including ManojMahanta, NanduruMohanta, DaitariMohanta, PradeepPalbabu, NiranjanMohanta, ManoranjanMohanta along with 3-4 others had been to the cashew orchard situated in the border of the villages of Malharpada and Nodhagadia to consume the fruits by plucking. The cashew field was within Badgaon Gram Panchayat. When they were inside the cashew orchard, ten accused persons, who were villagers of Nodhagadia along with 17 to 18 others holding deadly weapons like Bhujali,lathi surrounded the villagers of Malharpada. RaitaMohanta (Accused No.3) (A3) is stated to have dealt a blow with a lathi on the head of ManikarPatra (PW 1), who sustained severe bleeding injury and looking at his serious condition, his co-villagers Nanduru Ho and DaitariMohanta came to his rescue. Accused SirishMohanta, the present Appellant (A2) is stated to have brought out a Bhujali from his dress and gave a piercing blow on the abdomen of Nanduru Ho, who sustained bleeding injury and cried for help. He is stated to have succumbed to his injury at the spot. Seeing this A2 is stated to have fled away from the spot with his weapon. DaitariMohanta was assaulted by JayahariMohanta (A9) with a lathi and sustained bleeding injuries. He too shouted for help. The villagers of Nodhagadia then fled away noticing the death of Nanduru Ho. The injuredwere then brought to the hospital in a bleeding condition for treatment by the villagers of Malaharpada.
4. During investigation, it was ascertained that the deceased Nanduru Ho was 'Kolha' by caste and therefore, a member of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community. An inquest was held over the dead body and then sent for post-mortem examination. As far as the Appellant is concerned, the weapon Bhujali was not recovered by the Investigating Officer (IO) during investigation.
5. The shirt and lungi of the present Appellant were seized and all of the accused persons were arrested. On the conclusion of the investigation, a charge sheet was laid against the accused persons for the aforementioned offences under Sections 302 and 34 IPC read with Section 3(2)(v) of the S.C. and S.T. (POA) Act. The accused pleaded not guilty, and claimed trial.
6. On behalf of the prosecution, 12 witnesses were examined. No witnesses were examined for the defence. On an analysis of the evidence, the trial Court came to the conclusion that barring the present Appellant none of the other accused could befound guilty for the offence under Section 302 read with 34 IPC. PWs 2, 3, 5 and 6 were unanimous that the Appellant had fled away from the spot when the deceased fell down on the ground and his intestine came out of his abdomen. The trial Court noted that the counter case had been registered by the accused against the villagers of Malharpada bearing ICC No.42 of 2000 which had been sent to the police for investigation under Section 156Cr.P.C.
