The division judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court held that Exception 4 to Section 300 of the IPC specifically provides that culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel and without offender having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the informant celebrated a festival in their village and as per the customs, sacrifice is offered and people take meat and liquor on the occasion. After the Puja, the informant was invited by the appellant to his house where he asked his wife to prepare food and drinks for the guest. At that time, Sita Soren was already drunk and she refused to prepare food, which resulted in an altercation between them. Appellant felt himself slighted by the conduct of his wife and when his request was again turned down, he assaulted her with fists and kicks, resulting in her death. Thereafter, the informant and others returned from there and later on they came to know that there was another round of fight between them in which the appellant assaulted his wife to death. The trial court convicted and sentenced the appellant under Section 302 of the IPC. Aggrieved by this, the present appeal is filed.
Contentions of the Appellant
The Appellant contended that there exists no intention on the part of the appellant to cause death which is evident from the fact that no weapon or instrument was used to assault the deceased.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble Court observed that under Section 299 of the IPC, culpable homicide is committed when death is caused by doing an act with the intention of causing death, or with the intention of causing such bodily injury, as is likely to cause death. Intention and knowledge are mental elements that can be judged only by the manifest act of the person concerned. The likelihood of death resulting from the injury can be inferred from the nature of the injury caused. Murder is an aggravated form of culpable homicide and in order to prove the charge, the necessary ingredient under Section 300 of the IPC is required to be proved.
The court furthermore observed that according to exception 4 to Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code, culpable homicide is not considered murder if it is carried out in the heat of passion during a sudden fight, without any prior planning, and without the accused taking unfair advantage of the situation or acting in a harsh or unusual way.
The court noted that no undue advantage was taken by him as no weapon of assault was used, exchange of abuse culminated in a physical brawl in which the appellant assaulted to the deceased by kicks and fists.
Based on these considerations, the court was of the opinion that the case fall under Exception 4 to Section 300 of the IPC and that the appellant is guilty for the offense under Section 304 Part II of the IPC. The court set aside the conviction under Section 302 of the IPC.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court allowed the appeal.
Case Title: Budh Roy Soren V. The State of Jharkhand
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ananda Sen, and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary
Case No.: Criminal Appeal (D.B.) No. 201 of 2011
Advocates for the Appellant: Mr. P.P.N. Roy, Sr. Advocate Ms. Pragati Prasad, Advocate
Advocate for the State: Mr. Saket Kumar, A.P.P.
Read Judgment @Latestlaws.com
Picture Source : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jharkhand_High_Court.jpg
