JUDGMENT :

H.S. Grewal, J.

The instant appeal has been preferred against the judgment of conviction dated 15.05.2004 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Ludhiana wherein the accused-appellant had been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life along with fine of Rs.10,000/-, in default of payment of fine to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of six months under Section 302 IPC.

2. The case of the prosecution has arisen out of FIR No.32 dated 14.05.2001 under Sections 323, 324, 325 of the IPC, registered at Police Station Raikot, District Ludhiana. The facts of the case are that accused-appellant lived in the paternal house of deceased-Balwinder Kaur for the last about 10 years. Since Balwinder Kaur had no brother and her father had also expired, the accused-appellant-Nishan Singh used to look after her land and house. About a month prior to the date of occurrence, accused-appellant had asked Balwinder Kaur to sell her share of the land so that he could start his business with that money but she had refused to do so. Therefore, on the night of 8th May, 2001, after finishing her household work, she laid on the cot in the courtyard at about 12:30 in the night when her husband came to her and said that he will see as to how she will not sell the land. Thereafter, he gave a blow with a kulhari (axe) on her head and thereafter blood started oozing from her head. The appellant gave another axe blow from the reverse side which landed on her right arm. She raised alarm and on hearing the same, Karamjit Singh son of Nahar Singh and Iqbal Singh son of Karamjit Singh reached their house and thereafter her husband/appellant ran away from the spot. That on that night, she took medicines from the private doctor at Pandori and in the morning her maternal grand-father Dilip Singh got her admitted in Civil Hospital, Raikot for treatment. She was declared unfit to make statement. Thereafter, on 14.05.2021, she was declared fit to make statement. She got recorded her statement on 14.05.2001 and on her statement, the present FIR was registered on 14.05.2001 under Sections 323, 324 and 325 IPC only and challan was also presented under Section 323, 324 and 325 IPC only. Injured Balwinder Kaur was discharged from hospital on 15.05.2025. Thereafter, on 05.06.2001, Balwinder Kaur-deceased was again admitted to Gurkirat Hospital, Raikot and on 06.06.2001, she was referred to Arora Neuro Hospital, Ludhiana, where she expired on 13.06.2001 due to septicaemia. Thereafter, on the statement of deceased's maternal grandfather, offence under Section 302 IPC was added.

3. Learned counsel for the appellant has contended that the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 IPC is wholly unsustainable in the light of the medical evidence on record. It is submitted that the primary allegation of the prosecution was that the deceased suffered a fatal axe blow on her head at the hands of the appellant. However, the medical evidence, particularly the postmortem report (Ex.PE) and the testimonies of the medical experts, categorically reveal that the cause of death was not the alleged injury but septicaemia resulting in multi-organ failure. Dr. Ripan Miglani (PW-9) clearly deposed that the deceased was admitted for treatment of urinary tract infection and not for head injury, which was treated elsewhere and found to be normal on MRI scan. Further, PW-1 Dr. Harinder Sharma, who conducted the postmortem, opined that while the injury on the head could have been caused by a kulhari (axe), the actual cause of death was septicaemia, which developed about a month after the injury, and cannot be directly attributed to the incident dated 08.05.2001. It is further submitted that the initial FIR was registered only under Sections 323, 324, and 325 IPC, and even the challan was presented under the same sections. It was only after the death of the deceased on 13.06.2001 that Section 302 IPC was added belatedly, based on the statement of the maternal grandfat