REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1049 OF 2018 RATHEESHKUMAR @ BABU Appellant(s)

VERSUS THE STATE OF KERALA & ANR. Respondent(s)

O R D E R

This appeal arises from the judgment and order dated

05.01.2018 passed by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in Criminal Appeal No.779 of 2013 by which the High Court dismissed the appeal filed by the appellant herein and thereby affirmed the judgment and order of conviction passed by the Additional Sessions Court, Adhoc-III (Fast Track Court-III), Palakkad in Session Case No.490 of 2008 for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short, “the IPC”).

2. The case of the prosecution may be summarised as under:-

It appears from the evidence on record that the appellant herein is an agriculturist. He owns his own agricultural farm. The Signature Not Verified Digitally signed by ARJUN BISHT Date: a202g5.0r1.15icultural farm of the deceased is adjacent to the agricultural

16:59:04 IST Reason:

farm of the appellant herein. On the date of the incident, the deceased was trying to put up a fence in some part of his land. The putting up of fence was objected vehemently to by the father of the appellant herein namely, Ramakrishnan. There was some altercation in words between the two. According to the case of the prosecution, the father called for his son i.e. the appellant herein for help. The appellant herein reached to the place where the quarrel was going on. Thereafter, according to the case of the prosecution, the appellant and his father caught hold of the deceased and the appellant is said to have taken out a knife and inflicted stab injuries on the chest region of the deceased. The deceased succumbed to the injuries.

3. In such circumstances referred to above, the First Information Report that came to be lodged for the offence of murder. At the end of the investigation, chargesheet was filed. As the offence was exclusively triable by the Sessions Court, the case came to be committed to the Court of Sessions. The trial court vide order dated 09.06.2009 framed charge. The charge reads as under:-

“I, R. Narayana Pisharadi, Addl. Sessions Judge, Ad Hoc- III, Palakkad, hereby charge you, the above said accused as follows:-

Firstly:-

That on 6.4.07 at about 12-45 p.m. in the compound of house no Kuzhalmannam Panchayath at the police Chithali Edakkad in Kuzhalmannam No. 1 Village in Alathur Taluk, at the place at a distance of 10.64 metres from the south-eastern corner of the aforesaid house to the south-east, you the first accused caught hold of the collar of the shirt worn by the deceased Narayanan and that you the second accused caught hold of the neck of the deceased Narayanan and you the first accused stabbed the deceased Narayanan on the right chest and on the right side of the body with a knife causing grievous injuries to him and as a result of such injuries, Narayanan died at 2.24 p.m. on the same day and thereby you the first accused have committed murder of Narayanan and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and within the cognizance of this court and Secondly:-

That the aforesaid act was committed by the first accused in furtherance of the common intention of both the accused to murder Narayanan and thereby you the second accused have committed the offence punishable under section 302 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and within the cognizance of this court and Thirdly:-

That on the same at the same time and at the same place, you the first accused beat Narayanan who had fallen down on account of the stab injuries sustained by him with a wooden bar which is a dangerous weapon, and voluntarily caused hurt to him and thereby you the first accused have committed and offence punishable under section 324 of the Indian Penal Code and within the cognizance of this court and Lastly:-

That on the same day at the same time and at the same place, you the first accused bea