Orissa High Court
Suresh Sahoo vs State Of Orissa on 4 December, 2023
Author: G. Satapathy
Bench: D. Dash, G. Satapathy
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
CRLA No.641 of 2015
(An appeal U/S. 374(2) of the Code of Criminal
Procedure against the judgment passed by Shri
R.L.Panda, Addl. Sessions Judge, Jajpur in S.T. No.321 of
2013 corresponding to G.R. Case No. 794 of 2012,
arising out of Jajpur Sadar PS Case No. 146 of 2012 of
the Court of SDJM, Jajpur)
Suresh Sahoo ... Appellant
-versus-
State of Orissa ... Respondent
For Appellant: Ms.A.Panda, Advocate
For Respondent: Mr.G.N.Rout, ASC.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE D. DASH
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE G. SATAPATHY
DATE OF HEARING :10.10.2023
DATE OF JUDGMENT:04.12.2023
G. Satapathy, J.
1. This appeal by the convict impugns the
judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed on
06.11.2015 by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jajpur
in C.T. No. 321 of 2013 convicting the appellant for
offence U/Ss. 302/506 of IPC and sentencing him to
undergo rigorous imprisonment for life with fine of
Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) in default where of,
to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for two years for
offence U/S. 302 of IPC and to undergo Rigorous
Imprisonment for two years for offence U/S. 506 of IPC
with direction for running of substantive sentences
concurrently. The learned trial Court by the aforesaid
judgment has acquitted co-accused Laxmidhar Sahoo @
Nandu for all the offences and the appellant for offence
U/Ss. 341/294 of IPC.
2. An overview of facts in precise are that on
13.12.2012 at about 4 P.M. in the afternoon Gouranga
Sahoo(hereinafter referred to as the "deceased") finding
the appellant riding a motor cycle at a high speed on
village road had advised the later to ride bike slowly
resulting in a brawl between them till intervention of
village gentries and the convict and his associate
accordingly retreated by giving serious threat to the
deceased. In the evening, while the deceased had been
to Mala Anandapur to see Uttereswar Jatra, at about 7 to
7.30 P.M., the appellant came from behind and stabbed
on the neck of deceased by means of a knife near the
sweet stall of Jagannath Behera resulting in the death of
the deceased, but subsequently declared dead at
hospital.
On this incident, on the same day at about
11.30 P.M. in the night P.W.11-Dhoi Sahoo lodged an
FIR(Ext.4) against five persons including the appellant
and Laxmidhar Sahoo before the IIC Jajpur Sadar Police
Station who registered P.S. Case No. 146 of 2012 for
offence U/Ss. 341/294/506/302/109/34 of IPC and
directed SI of Police P.W.19-A.K.Swain to investigate the
matter. P.W.19 accordingly conducted investigation by
holding inquest and getting autopsy done on the dead
body as well as examined the witnesses, arrested the
appellant & forwarded him to Court, seized the weapon of
offence sent it to RFSL for chemical examination and
accordingly chemical examination report under Ext.13
was obtained. On conclusion of investigation, P.W.19
submitted charge sheet against the appellant and
Laxmidhar Sahoo @ Nandu resulting in trial in the
present case after denial of charge by them.
3. In support of the charge, the prosecution has
examined altogether 19 witnesses and relied upon 13
documents vide Exts. 1 to 13 as against no evidence
whatsoever by the defence. Of the witnesses examined,
P.W.11 is the informant, PWs.1, 5, 10, 12 and 17 are
witnesses to the first occurrence on village road, whereas
PWs.2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 13, 14 and 16 were the witnesses to
the second occurrence of murder of the deceased. PW.18
is the doctor and PW19 is the IO.
In the course of trial, the plea of the appellant
was denial simpliciter and false implication.
4. After appreciating the evidence upon hearing
the parties, the learned trial Court convicted the appellant
for offence U/Ss.302/506 of IPC by mainly relying upon
the evidence of eye witnesses PWs.2, 3 and 13.
5. Ms. A. Panda, learned counsel for the appellant
while not disputing the finding of the learned trial Court
with regard to the role played by the appellant in
assaulting the deceased, has confined her submission for
modification/alteration of conviction of the appellant for
offence U/S.304 Part-I of IPC and reduction of sentence.
Further, Ms. Panda has emphasized that although the
learned trial Court had found relevancy as to the
argument advanced for the appellant for his culpability
U/S.304-I of IPC, but it had failed to consider to
distinguish the act of the appellant for offence U/S.304
Part-I of IPC on erroneous premises that the act of the
appellant was not coming within any exception to Section
300 of IPC. Ms. Panda, however, has argued that even
after taking into consideration the prosecution case, only
one injury being found on the deceased by way of single
blow dealt by the appellant on account of persistent
quarreling between the appellant and the deceased, the
appellant cannot be convicted for offence U/S.302 of IPC,
rather the act of the appellant is squarely covered by
offence U/S.304 Part-I of IPC. In summing up her
argument, Ms. Panda has prayed to modify the conviction
of the appellant for offence U/S.304 Part-I of IPC and
impose a sentence of imprisonment for the period already
undergone by the appellant.
6. On the other hand, Mr. G.N. Rout, learned ASC
while supporting the impugned judgment of conviction
and order of sentence has submitted that there is
overwhelming and clinching evidence against the
appellant for commission of murder of the deceased since
there appears little doubt about appellant stabbing the
deceased on his neck and thereby, clear intention to
commit murder is attributable to the appellant. It is
further submitted by him that the medical evidence being
indicative of homicidal death of the deceased and the act
of the appellant being found established, the conviction of
the appellant for offence U/S.302 of IPC cannot be
questioned and thereby, the sentence imposed on the
appellant being minimum sentence for murder, the
appeal warrants no interference. Mr. Rout, learned ASC
has, accordingly, prayed to dismiss the appeal.
7. Gone through the impugned judgment of
conviction minutely and the evidence on record
extensively as well as meticulously keeping in view the
rival submissions to find out the legal sustainability of the
finding of the learned trial Court especially with regard to
the short question whether the conviction of the appellant
is liable to be altered/converted to one U/s. 304 Part-I of
the IPC since the only argument canvassed before this
Court that the case does not travel beyond culpable
homicide not amounting to murder and the act of the
accused can be attributed to the intention of causing such
bodily injury as is likely to cause death of a person. Thus,
the question primarily falls for consideration in this appeal
has been narrowed down to find out as to whether the act
of the appellant would constitute an offence punishable
U/S. 302 of IPC or 304 Part-I of IPC.
8. In order to answer the above question, the
evidence of Doctor-P.W.18 is very useful. The testimony
of P.W.18 inter alia discloses that an punctured lacerated
wound on the left side nap of neck below the hair line
was found on the person of the deceased and this was
only the single injury which was sufficient to cause death
of a person, but it was never disputed by the defence as
well as the prosecution. The evidence of doctor further
transpires that he found mid brain injury of size 3" x 1"
on the left side of the neck and the cause of death of the
deceased was due to incised stab wound which starts as
an incised wound and ends as stab wound by sudden
thrust of blade of knife. Thus, it is very clear that the
deceased had sustained one injury on his neck which is
vital part of a person. How the injury had been inflicted
by the deceased and under what circumstance it had
been inflicted could be ascertained by going through the
evidence of other witnesses.
9. The consistent case of prosecution is that the
deceased had prevented the convict earlier on the day of
occurrence from riding motor cycle speedily which ensued
quarrel between them, but the quarrel was pacified by
the intervention of the villagers and subsequently in the
evening, the incident occurred as revealed from the
evidence of P.Ws. 1, 11 and 19. Thus, it was a tense
situation between the convict and the deceased and the
circumstance suggests that the convict stabbed the
deceased without pre-meditation in the heat of passion.
In such circumstance, especially when one injury was
found on the deceased, it is difficult to infer the requisite
intention of the convict for causing murder of the
deceased, but the injury as inflicted by the convict was
likely to cause death of a person, but in the circumstance
when there was persistent quarrel between the convict
and the deceased and four others in other side, it can be
reasonably inferred that the convict might have lost
mental equilibrium before stabbing the deceased in a
heat of passion without pre-meditation and therefore, the
act of the convict can be categorized U/S. 304 Part-I of
IPC. Accordingly, the conviction of the appellant is
altered/modified from Section 302 of IPC to Section 304
Part-I of IPC, and taking consideration the attending and
extenuating circumstances, the convict herein is
sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten
years for offence under section 304 Part-I of IPC. Since
the conviction and sentence of the appellant for offence
U/S. 506 of IPC having not being challenged and the
same in the circumstance lost importance for appellant
having already suffered the sentence for the offence, the
aforesaid sentence of R.I. for two years for offence U/S.
506 of IPC would run concurrently with the sentence for
offence U/S. 304 Part-I of IPC.
10. In the result, the appeal is allowed in part to
the extent as indicated above. The conviction and
sentence of the appellant is accordingly modified to the
extent indicated above.
(G. Satapathy)
Judge
I Agree
(D.Dash)
Judge
Signed by: KISHORE KUMAR SAHOO
Designation: Secretary Orissa High Court, Cuttack,
Reason: Authentication
Dated the 4th day of December, 2023/Kishore
Location: High Court of Orissa
Date: 05-Dec-2023 17:58:41
