Grievous hurt under S.326 IPC upheld; lack of provocation negates claims for lesser charges.

1. This Criminal Revision Petition has been filed challenging the judgment dated 12.01.2017 delivered by the Sessions Judge, Unakoti Judicial District, Kailashahar in Criminal. Appeal No. 07(2) of 2016, affirming the conviction and sentence of the petitioner under S.326, IPC passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Unakoti Judicial District in case No. PRC (WP) 87 of 2015 convicting the petitioner and sentencing him to Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for 5 years and fine of Rs. 3000/- with default stipulation for commission of offence punishable under S.326, IPC by judgment and order dated 23.05.2016.

2. Brief facts of the case are as under:
Smt. Laxmi Rani Das wife of Sri Tapan Das of Chandipur, Kailashahar lodged a written complaint with the Officer - in - charge of Kailashahar police station on 09.07.2015 alleging, inter alia, that her father Subhash Das assaulted her mother Smt. Sabita Das with an axe at about 9.30 p.m on 26.06.2015 following a quarrel between them as a result of which her mother received bleeding injury in her head. Immediately, she had taken her injured mother to RGM hospital at Kailashahar from where she was brought to GBP Hospital at Agartala during the same night.

3. Based on her FIR Kailashahar P.S. Case No.2015 KLS032 dated 09.07.2015 under S.326 IPC was registered and the case was endorsed to Shri Buddhiram Debbarma, Sub-inspector of Police for investigation. During investigation Shri Buddhiram Debbarma [PW - 1], IO of the case, met the material witnesses of the case and recorded their statements after examining them under S.161, Cr.P.C. His investigation revealed that the petitioner and his wife started quarreling at around 9.30 p.m. on 26.06.2015 and following such quarrel he hit his wife with an axe on her head. As a result, she received deep cut injury on her scalp which was supported by Dr. Sujit Chakma, [PW - 4] who stated in his report [Exbt.5] that the injury was so deep that the brain materials were visible through the injury. The IO had also drawn up hand sketch map of the crime scene with separate index indicating the material locations at the PO and after collection of injury report submitted charge sheet No.30 of 2015 dated 30.07.2015 against the petitioner for commission of offence punishable under S.326, IPC.

4. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate received the charge sheet and took cognizance of offence punishable under S.326, IPC. The trial commenced against the accused with framing of charge under S.326, IPC. The charge framed by the learned trial court reads as under:
"That on 26.06.2015 at about 2130 hours at Chandipur upon a quarrel with your wife Smt. Sabita Das you assaulted her on her head by an axe, which is an instrument of cutting voluntarily causing grievous hurt to her person and thereby committed offence punishable u/S. 326 of the Indian Penal Code , 1860, and within my cognizance.
I do hereby direct that you be tried on the aforesaid charge."
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed trial.

5. During trial as many as 10 prosecution witnesses including the informant, Smt. Laxmi Rani Das [PW - 10], her injured mother, Smt. Sabita Das[PW - 5], her brother Shri Ramkrishna Das[PW - 6], the medical officer, Dr. Sujit Chakma [PW - 4] and the Investigating Officer, Shri Buddhiram Debbarma[PW - 1] were examined and 5 documents were introduced and marked as Exhibit - 1 to Exhibit - 5/2.

6. After the recording of prosecution evidence was over, the accused was examined under S.313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C., in short). In reply, the accused pleaded innocence and claimed that the charge was foisted on him. He declined to