The judgment establishes the principle that the accused's mental state at the time of the occurrence is crucial in determining criminal liability, and while Section 84 of the Penal Code provides for exemption due to unsoundness of mind, extenuating circumstances can influence the court's decision on the sentence.

1. This judgment governs two criminal appeals i.e. Criminal Appeal No. 184 of 1946 and No. 185 of, 1946 against the judgments in sessions Trials Nos. 21 of 1946 and 22 of 1946 respectively in both of which the accused (now appellant) has been convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged in addition to a sentence of imprisonment passed against him for an offence under Section 324, Penal Code. The relevant facts are as stated below.

2. The accused, Kalicharan was working as rajmistri (mason) at Calcutta where he met Mt. Dukalhin and married her. After some time she left Calcutta as the climate of that place did not suit her and came to reside at Jora her original village) along with Ramdanuwu, the son of the accused from his former wife. The accused continued to live at Calcutta for some time and sent letters and money-orders to his wife at Jora but finding that she did not like to return to Calcutta he himself came to reside at Jora and even purchased some land there.

3. The accused with his wife and son was living in a house belonging to Bahorik, brother of Mt. Dukalhin, who was himself living in the adjoining house with his wife Thanwarin, his son Khorbahara and two daughters, Khorbahrin and Kachra. The children were all below 6 or 7 years of age and the youngest Kachra was only 2 months old.

Mt. Dukalhin was not pulling on well with her step son; Bamdanuwa and she often complained against him to the accused. This was the cause of some disagreement between the accused and his wife and the latter threatened to leave the accused and go to live with her relations; as a fact on a day previous to the incident, i.e., on 7-4-1946, she actually went to a village Lawandi to stay with her sister.

4. The accused requested her brother Bahorik to persuade her to return but in spite of Bahorik's persuasion she did not return that night i.e., on the night of 7-4-1946. The conduct of the wife in leaving the house and not returning that night was naturally disliked by the accused and it can be safely assumed that he was enraged against her.

The next morning that is on the 8th, Mt. Dukalhin the wife returned only, as it appears, to ask the accused to give her As. 8 as she wanted to go to some village to attend the marriage of her relative. This added fuel to the fire and the accused threw the keys on her. At this time, Khorbahara, the minor son of Bahorik, came to the house of the accused.

Mt. Dukalhin picked up the keys and went to the first floor of the house where the box containing money was kept. The accused, it appears, felt further enraged as he anticipated that his wife would take out money from the box and then leave as she proposed to attend her relative's marriage. The accused with a view to prevent and punish his wife, who was then on the first floor, proceeded to go to the first floor and unfortunate Khorbahara who happened to be there was the first subject of his wrath. The accused made a murderous attack on this boy, causing him not less than 13 injuries with a sharp-edged knife-to which the boy subsequently succumbed in hospital where he was removed for treatment. He then went to the first floor, attached his wife and caused her injuries, but before any fatal injury could be inflicted, Bahorik reached there and after' some struggle snatched away the knife (Articel c) from the accused.

5. The accused continued beating his wife with fists and blows until both of them, it appears, jumped from the first floor into the court-yard. Mt. Thanwarin, wife of Bahorik with her dauther Khorbahrin in her lap came to the scene to rescue Mt. Dukalhin, her husband's sister. The accused assaulted her and. also the daughter in, her lap causing them several injuries which resulted in their instantaneous beats. The accused also injured and killed Kachra, the young daughter of Bahorik. One Mt. Turkahin, wife of Mehtar, a neighbour who came to the spot to intercede, was also attacked by the accused, but she escaped only with one injury on her shou