PRESENT APPEAL
1. This appeal assails the correctness of the final Judgment and Order dated 22.04.2016 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Criminal Appeal No.151 of 2013 whereby the High Court has dismissed the appeal of the present appellant and confirmed the order of conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and awarding life sentence passed on 05.10.2012 by the Trial Court.
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FACTUAL PRISM
3. As already narrated earlier, by judgment dated 05.10.2012, the Trial Court convicted the accused no.1, i.e., the appellant herein under Section 302 IPC and acquitted accused Nos.2 and 3 from all the charges levelled against them. The appellant was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/-, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year for the said offence.
4. The appellant filed Criminal Appeal No.151 of 2013 before the High Court at Madras. Vide order dt. 22.04.2016, the High Court upheld the Trial Court’s order and dismissed the appeal of the appellant concluding that the act of the appellant would squarely fall within the third limb of Section 300 IPC and the same would not fall under any of the Exception to Section 300 IPC and hence he is liable to be punished under Section 302 of IPC.
5. The appellant has filed the present appeal against the aforementioned order of the High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 151 of 2013 praying to set aside the order of conviction on several grounds, inter alia, that the Trial Court held that accused no.1, all of a sudden, while the wordy quarrel was going on, had stabbed the deceased in front of his daughter, son, his relatives and hence his act should come under Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC and would be guilty of Section 304 part 1 IPC and should be sentenced accordingly.
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8. Hence the only question that remains for consideration before us is whether the act of the accused is culpable homicide amounting to murder or not. In other words, the question is whether the acts of the accused would come under Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC or would be an act of culpable homicide amounting to murder punishable under Section 302.
9. This Court in Rampal Singh v. State of U.P [(2012) 8 SCC 289], while altering the offence under Section 302 to Section 304 Part 1 of IPC, has elaborately discussed the distinction between culpable homicide amounting to murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. What is held is that classification would be a matter of fact depending upon the evidence led in the trial. Broadly speaking, the factors to be considered are enumerated in paragraph 25 thereof. The same is been reproduced below:
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10. It would also be apt here to refer to the judgement of Surinder Kumar Vs. Union Territory, Chandigarh, wherein this Court had laid down the grounds to invoke Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC:
“7. To invoke this exception four requirements must be satisfied, namely, (i) it was a sudden fight; (ii) there was no premeditation; (iii) the act was done in a heat of passion; and (iv) the assailant had not taken any undue advantage or acted in a cruel manner. The cause of the quarrel is not relevant no is it relevant who offered the provocation or started the assault. The number of wounds caused during the occurrence is not a decisive factor but what is important is that the occurrence must have been sudden and unpremeditated and the offender must have acted in a fit of anger. Of course, the offender must not have taken any undue advantage or acted in a cruel manner. Where, on a sudden quarrel, a person in the heat of the moment picks up a weapon which is handy and causes injuries, one of which proves fatal, he would be entitled to the benefit of this exception provided he has not acted cruelly.”
APPRECIATION OF FACTS
11. In the present case, while looking at the facts and circumstances of the case, it can be seen that the appellant had suddenly stabbed the deceased during a heated verbal argument with him and not during a pre-planned attack which was carried out with the sole intention of causing the death of the deceased. The previous enmity between the appellant and the deceased had been a contributory factor leading to the verbal altercation but it was not the reason for the accused to carry out a pre-planned fatal attack against the deceased. The appellant had acted “suddenly”, in the heat of passion and without a pre-planned approach to kill the deceased.
12. Right from the beginning i.e., he prosecution story as set up in the FIR was that initially there was a heated discussion between the parties and in a fit of anger the physical assault took place. Even the ocular testimony is also to the same effect. Although on the same evidence the Trial Court has acquitted two co-accused and convicted only the appellant. It has also come in evidence that the appellant had caused only one injury whereas other accused had caused multiple injuries. However, the Trial Court acquitted the other two accused.
13. Hence, it can be safely concluded from the evidence led in the present case that the appellant’s overt act of killing the deceased happened during a fit of anger in the heat of a passionate verbal quarrel and would fall under Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC. Moreover, the clear intent needed to prove culpable homicide amounting to murder has also not been established by the prosecution.
14. The appeal is partly allowed.
PARTY: MARIAPPAN …APPELLANT VERSUS STATE REP. BY INSPECTOR OF POLICE …RESPONDENT- CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.3598 OF 2023 @ SLP(CRL.) NO.15192 OF 2023 – NOVEMBER 24, 2023 – 2023 INSC 1034.
https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2023/14840/14840_2023_9_34_48548_Judgement_24-Nov-2023.pdf
Further study on the subject
WHAT IS ‘CRUEL’ UNDER EXCEPTION 4 OF SECTION 300 IPC? – Section 1
Conviction Sudden provocation – Section 1
MURDER CASE WHETHER s.302 or s.304 IPC? – EXPLAINED – Section 1
