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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 817 of 2007

RAM DAS   .....   APPELLANT

VERSUS

 STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH .....   RESPONDENT

O R D E R

 1. At about 8:30a.m. on 19th July, 1990 Raju PW-1 and  

his  father  Nand  Ram  hereinafter  referred  to  as  'the  

deceased' were in their field guarding their crop, when  

the appellant Ram Das arrived at that place carrying an  

axe.  He quarreled with the deceased asking him as to  

why he had dismantled a part of the mound in his field.  

This led to an altercation between them whereupon the  

appellant picked up a stone from his field and hit the  

deceased on his chest and when he fell down caused him  

7/8 injuries with the axe which he was already carrying.  

On the cries raised by Raju, PW-1, Ratanlal and Tansi  

Pws- 2 and 3 also arrived at the spot whereafter the  

appellant ran away towards the village.  The trial court  

on an examination of the evidence of Pws – 1, 2 and 3  

observed  that  the  evidence  could  not  be  believed  as

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there were discrepancies inter se the witnesses.  It  

also held that their evidence was not supported by the  

medical  testimony  inasmuch  as  there  were  only  four  

injuries  on  the  dead  body  whereas  the  witneses  had  

stated them to be between 7 and 15 injuries.  The trial  

court, accordingly, acquitted the accused.  An appeal  

was thereafter taken by the State of Madhya Pradesh to  

the High Court and the High Court relying on the Pws –  

1, 2 and 3 as also the medical evidence and finding that  

the judgment of the trial court was perverse and not  

possible on the evidence that had come before it, has  

reversed the judgment of the trial court insofar as the  

conviction was concerned but holding that there was no  

intention on the part of the appellant to cause death,  

as there was no pre-meditation and that it had happened  

in the course of a sudden quarrel, convicted him under  

Section  304 Part 2 of the IPC and sentenced him to 8  

years  rigorous  imprisonment.   This  appeal  by  way  of  

special leave is before us by the accused Ram Das.

2. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties  

and gone through the evidence very carefully.  We find  

absolutely no reason to doubt the evidence of Pws – 1, 2  

and 3.  PW -1 Raju was about 10/12 years old and was  

also the author of the First Information Report.  The

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trial court had put certain questions to him during the  

course of his examination in chief which he had answered  

very lucidly and logically.  We also see that he cannot  

be said to be so young that he would not be able to  

understand  as  to  what  could  had  happened  in  his  

presence. Likewise, we find that the evidence of P.Ws. 2  

and 3, Ratanlal and Tansi, whose fields were adjoining  

those  of  the  deceased  have  fully  supported  the  

prosecution  story.   Nothing  has  been  brought  out  on  

record as to why these two witnesses would tell a lie  

about a person for whom they did not have any ill-will.  

We are, therefore, of the opinion that the conviction of  

the  appellant  was  fully  justified.   We  are  indeed  

surprised  as  to  how  in  the  facts  of  the  case   this  

matter would fall under Section 304 Part 2 of the IPC,  

as  the  medical  evidence  shows  five  injuries  on  the  

person of the deceased, all on the head and with all the  

bones of the head being fractures which could have been  

caused  with  an  axe.   We  are,  however,  unable  to  do  

anything in the matter as the State has not chosen to  

file an appeal against the judgment of the High Court,  

on this score.  The appeal is dismissed.   

..............................J [HARJIT SINGH BEDI]

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..............................J [CHANDRAMAULI KR. PRASAD]

NEW DELHI APRIL 05, 2011.