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2014 Supreme(Sikk) 39
IN THE HIGH COURT OF SIKKIM : GANGTOK
NARENDRA KUMAR JAIN, S. P. WANGDI, JUDGE, JJ.
State of Sikkim - Appellant
Vs.
Aita Hang Subba @ Kaley - Respondent/Accused
D.B. CRL. APPEAL NO.10 OF 2013
Decided On: 02-07-2014
FOR APPELLANT : M/S. J. B. PRADHAN, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR AND KARMA THINLAY NAMGYAL, ADDITIONAL PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, SANTOSH KUMAR CHETTRI AND POLLIN RAI, ASSISTANT PUBLIC PROSECUTORS.
FOR RESPONDENT/:M/S. S. S. HAMAL WITH TASHI ACCUSED WANGDI BHUTIA, ADVOCATES.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation and application of the Indian Penal Code, particularly in determining the appropriate charge and conviction for the accused based on the evidence of the case.
Headnote:
IPC - Criminal Law - Section 302, Section 304 Part II - The judgment discusses the evidence and interpretation of the Indian Penal Code, particularly Sections 302 and 304 Part II, in a case involving the death of an individual in a drunken brawl. The court analyzes the evidence of assault, medical reports, and witness testimonies to determine the appropriate charge and conviction for the accused.
Fact of the Case:
The deceased was involved in a physical altercation with the accused during a marriage celebration. The deceased sustained severe head injuries and later died as a result. The prosecution charged the accused under Section 302 IPC, but the trial court acquitted the accused due to lack of evidence.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the evidence overwhelmingly proved that the deceased died due to injuries sustained from the assault by the accused. The court rejected the trial court's conclusion as being based on minor discrepancies and held that the accused was guilty under Section 304 Part II IPC, as the death was caused in a fit of anger without premeditation.
Issues: The main issue was the interpretation of the evidence to determine the cause of the deceased's death and the appropriate charge for the accused.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was based on the interpretation of witness testimonies, medical reports, and forensic evidence, which led to the conclusion that the accused was guilty under Section 304 Part II IPC.
Final Decision: The State Appeal was allowed in part, setting aside the trial court's judgment. The accused was convicted under Section 304 Part II IPC, and the period of sentence was restricted to the imprisonment already undergone by the accused.
Wangdi, J.
This Appeal is directed against the impugned judgment dated 01.04.2013 in S.T.Case No.17 of 2010 of the Learned Sessions Judge, South and West Sikkim at Namchi, by which the respondent/accused was acquitted of the charge under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (for short ‘IPC’) for having caused the death of the deceased, Rajesh Chettri.
2. The facts of the case so far as it is relevant for the purpose of disposal of this Appeal are that on 26.04.2010 when the deceased Rajesh Chettri had gone to the house of one Dik Bahadur Rai at Upper Barakheley, Singling, West Sikkim to participate in the marriage celebration of his daughter, an altercation took place between him and the respondent/accused, Aita Hang Subba, in the courtyard of the said Dik Bahadur Rai at about 1400/1430 hours and that the respondent/accused person was seen hitting the deceased Rajesh Chettri with a rounded firewood causing the deceased severe head injuries with the respondent/accused in the process which he was also injured over his left eye. The fight was ultimately stopped by Som Bahadur Rai, PW4, and Mani Lall Subba, PW3, who led the deceased to his house. In the early morning of the next day, the wife of the deceased, Beena Subba, finding the condition of her husband/the deceased critical, decided to take him to the Namchi District Hospital and while doing so, stopped at the Soreng Police Station and informed of her husband’s condition and sought for a medical examination requisition form. No sooner had she put up her complaint, N/K Dhan Bahadur Tamang, informed of the deceased having died, which was later confirmed by Dr. Praveen Gurung, the Medical Officer at the Soreng P.H.C. The motive of the respondent/accused to put the deceased to death was prima facie established when the Soreng Police Station found from the records of the Police Station that a case under Section 457/380 IPC under FIR No. 06(04)10 dated 27.04.2010 had earlier been registered against the respondent/accused, on a complaint lodged by the deceased Rajesh Chettri. Therefore, Soreng P.S. case FIR No.8(04)10 dated 27.04.2010 under Section 302 IPC was registered against the respondent/accused and taken up for investigation.
3. Upon investigation, it was revealed that a marriage ceremony of the youngest daughter of one Dik Bahadur Rai was held at Upper Barakheley on 25.04.2010 and on the next day, i.e., on 26.04.2010, the said Dik Bahadur Rai invited the youth of the locality to help him in winding up and putting away things. After completion of the work at about 1000 hours, all the youths who had gathered to help were offered lunch. After the lunch was over, most of the youths left the house except for few of them who stayed behind to enjoy with the rum and beer offered to them by the said Dik Bahadur Rai. In a group of 6 persons consisting of the respondent/accused, the deceased Rajesh Chettri @ Raju, Mingma Sherpa @ Pala (PW-9), Som Bahadur Rai (PW-4), Mani Lall Subba (PW-8) and Yuvraj Subba (PW-3), the respondent/accused and Yuvraj Subba (PW-3) were engaged in a cheerful banter when some mud fell into the glass of the deceased. This led to an argument between the respondent/accused and the deceased which got aggravated into a physical fight. They were separated by Som Bahadur Subba (PW-4) and Mani Lall Subba (PW-8), but the respondent/accused rushed to the kitchen of the house and picked up a solid piece of firewood from behind it and hit the deceased with it on the head felling the deceased to the ground. Even then the respondent/accused continued to assault him mercilessly hitting him 2/3 times on the head and the back. They were again separated by PW-4, PW-8, and PW-9 and the deceased, led away to his residence by Mani Lall Subba, PW-8, and Som Bahadur Rai, PW-4.
4. In the evening, when Beena Subba, wife of the deceased returned home, she found the deceased asleep and did not disturb him presuming him to be under the influence of alcohol. The next morning, at
