NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL No.  1308               OF 2008 [Arising out of S.L.P. (Crl.) No.1304 of 2008]

Raman               .....

Appellant

Versus

State of Kerala            .....       Respondent

J U D G M E N T

Lokeshwar Singh Panta, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. Appellant has filed this appeal against the judgment and

order  dated  21.11.2005  passed  by  a  Division  Bench  of  the

High  Court  of  Kerala  at  Ernakulam  in  Criminal  Appeal

No.60/2004  [C]  confirming  the  conviction  and  sentence  of

imprisonment  for  life  in  respect  of  an  offence  punishable

under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code [for short ‘IPC’]

and a fine of Rs.15,000/- with a default stipulation of simple

imprisonment for one year awarded by the Fast Track Court

No.-II, Manjeri on 12.12.2003 in Sessions Case No.439/2001.

3. Brief facts, which led to the trial of the accused, are as

follows:

Raman-appellant herein, Narayanan (PW-1), Nadi (PW-6)

and  Unnikrishnan  @  Bapputty-deceased  were  living  at

Edayattur, District Mambarakunnu.  On 21.04.2000 at about

8:00 p.m., PW-1 and PW-6 were chatting by the side of the

road  when  they  heard  the  appellant  and  the  deceased

indulging in wordy quarrel.  PW-6 intervened and separated

them.  Unnikrishnan then proceeded  to  his  house  and the

appellant went towards the house of PW-6.  PW-6 returned to

the courtyard of the house of PW-1 along with Unnikrishnan.

The  appellant  alleged  to  have  uttered  abusive  language

against Unnikrishnan who in retaliation pulled the appellant’s

shirt  collar.   The  appellant  is  alleged  to  have  stabbed

Unnikrishnan  in  his  abdomen  with  knife  (MO.1).

Unnikrishnan collapsed on the spot and uttered that he was

finished.  PW-6 bandaged the wound of Unnikrishnan.  PW-1

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informed  Velayudhan  (PW-2),  the  younger  brother  of

Unnikrishnan  about  the  incident  who  arrived  at  the  spot

where  Unnikrishnan  was  lying  on  the  embankment  by  the

side of the road.  PW-2 and others took Unnikrishnan to the

District Hospital, Manjeri, where the Casualty Medical Officer

examined him but he was declared dead.   

4. PW-6  went  to  Melattur  Police  Station  and  made

statement on the basis of which First Information Report (Ext.

P4) came to be registered by Abdulla (PW-9), Sub-Inspector.

After  registering  the  case,  K.  Manoharakumar,  Circle

Inspector (PW-10) went to the Hospital and conducted Inquest

Report (Ext. P1) on the body of Unnikrishnan-deceased.  The

Investigating Officer seized clothes (MO2) of the deceased.  He

sent the body of the deceased to the Medical College Hospital,

where  Dr.  Cyriyac  Jose  (PW-13)  conducted  post  mortem

examination.   PW-10  visited  the  place  of  occurrence  and

prepared  scene-cum-seizure  mahazar  (Ext.P2),  recovered

blood-stained  soil  and  stones  (MO  3).   He  arrested  the

appellant and the clothes (MO 4) worn by him were taken into

possession under Seizure  Mahazar  (Ext. P3).  At the instance

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of  the  appellant,  knife  (MO  1)  was  recovered.   Further

investigation was conducted by D. Rajan (PW-11) and Majeed

(PW-12), both Circle Inspectors.  PW-11 and PW-12 recorded

the statements of the witnesses.  On receipt of  post mortem

report (Ext. P8) and report of chemical analysis (Ext. P7), PW-

12 filed a charge sheet  against  the appellant for an offence

punishable under Section 302, IPC.

5. The  trial  court  found  a  prima facie  case  against  the

appellant  and,  accordingly,  charged  him  for  the  murder  of

Unnikrishnan.   During  trial  of  the  case,  the  prosecution

examined  as  many  as  13  witnesses.   The  appellant  in  his

statement recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure  denied  his involvement  in the commission of  the

crime.  He pleaded that on the day of occurrence when he was

going to his house, the deceased took quarrel with him and it

was PW-6 who intervened and separated them. He stated that

Unnikrishnan  came  back  from  his  house  to  the  place  of

occurrence  and  he  was  holding  a  knife  in  his  hand  and

suddenly  held his neck.  A scuffle  ensued between them,  in

which the knife accidentally struck into the abdomen of the

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deceased.   He pleaded that due to fear he ran away from the

scene of occurrence.  

6. The learned trial Judge, on analysis of the entire oral and

documentary evidence on record, found the appellant guilty of

the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC and accordingly

sentenced him as aforesaid.   

7. Being aggrieved, the appellant filed an appeal before the

High Court, which came to be dismissed by a Division Bench.

Hence,  the  appellant  has  filed  this  appeal  by  special  leave

questioning the correctness and legality of the judgment of the

High Court.

8. We have heard Mr. Radha Shyam Jena, Advocate for the

appellant, and Mr. R. Sathish, Advocate for the respondent-

State  and  with  their  assistance  examined  the  material  on

record.

9. It is not in dispute that Unnikrishnan @ Bapputty died

because of knife injuries caused to him.  PW 13, Dr. Cyriyac

Jose in the  post mortem  Report  has given the details  of the

injuries  noticed  in  the  abdomen  of  the  deceased.   In  the

opinion of the doctor, the injuries found on the body of the

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deceased could be caused by knife (MO 1).  PW-6 is the eye-

witness of the occurrence who has given the entire description

of the incident in the First Information Report (Ext. P4), which

has  been  corroborated  by  him in  his  deposition  before  the

Court.   It  is  his  evidence  that  on the day of  occurrence  at

about 8.00 p.m. when he was chatting with PW-1 by the side

of the road, the appellant came there and in front of the house

of Unnikrishnan, the appellant and Unnikrishnan indulged in

a wordy quarrel.  He and PW-1 intervened and separated them

who were locked in a push and pull war.  PW-6 advised both

of them to go to their respective houses.  He stated that he

went with PW-1 and when they reached in front of the house

of   PW-1,  the  appellant  and  Unnikrishnan  again  started

hurling  abuses  against  each  other  and  in  the  process

Unnikrishnan pulled the collar  of  the shirt  of  the appellant

who in retaliation stabbed Unnikrishnan in his abdomen with

a knife and as a result thereof Unnikrishnan uttered that he

was finished.  He also stated that the appellant ran away from

the scene of occurrence with the knife.  He carried the injured

Unnikrishnan  with  the  help  of  PW-1  and  laid  him  on  the

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raised  portion  in  front  of  the  house  of  PW-1.   Intestine  of

injured Unnikrishnan had been protruded through the wound

and  he  bandaged  the  said  wound.   PW-2,  the  brother  of

injured Unnikrishnan, was also called at the spot.  They took

the injured to the hospital where he was declared dead by the

doctor.   

10. PW-1 deposed that on the day of occurrence he was in

the kitchen of his house, he heard a commotion outside and

when came out on the road side, he noticed the appellant and

Unnikrishnan quarrelling with each other.  PW-6 intervened

and separated them and at that time he saw Unnikrishnan

collapsing on the road and uttered that he was stabbed by

Raman.   He  along  with PW-6 carried  injured  Unnikrishnan

and  laid  him  on  the  raised  portion  near  his  house  and

thereafter  he  informed  PW-2,  the  brother  of  the  deceased,

about the incident.  The evidence of this witness corroborates

the presence of PW-6 on the spot, whose evidence has been

found sufficient, cogent and convincing by the courts below.

The  prosecution  has  proved  the  recovery  of  knife  from the

possession of the appellant at his instance.  The evidence of

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PW-6 has not been shattered or impeached by the appellant.

PW-6 has given truthful narration of the events leading to the

unfortunate  death  of  the  deceased  at  the  hands  of  the

appellant.   The  testimony  of  PW-6  is  consistent  and

convincing which finds corroboration from the evidence of PW-

1 and the medical evidence of the doctor.  The appellant has

not disputed the presence of PWs-1 and 6 on the scene of the

occurrence.   He has also not disputed the recovery of knife

(MO  1).   The  trial  court  and  the  High  Court  both  have

disbelieved  the defence  version of  the  appellant  that  in the

process of scuffle the knife had accidentally struck the body of

the  deceased  and,  in  our  view,  the  finding  and  reasoning

recorded by the courts below to that extent cannot be found

faulty.   

11. This  Court  on  15.02.2008  issued  notice  to  the

respondent  limited  to  the  question  of  sentence.   On

independent scrutiny of the oral evidence of PWs-1 and 6, as

noticed  above,  we  find  that  it  was  the  deceased  who  first

pulled  the  collar  of  appellant’s  shirt  and  tried  to  press  his

neck, but in the process, the appellant inflicted knife blow in

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the abdomen with a view to escape from the clutches of the

deceased,  but  the  appellant  clearly  exceeded  the  right  of

private defence.  In these circumstances, his case fell under

Section 304 Part I IPC.  We, accordingly, convict the appellant

under  Section  304  Part-I  IPC  for  causing  the  death  of

Unnikrishnan @ Bapputty and sentence him to suffer rigorous

imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000/-.  In

default of payment of fine, the appellant shall undergo simple

imprisonment for one month.   

12. In the result,  for the afore-said reasons,  this appeal  is

partly allowed to the extent of holding the appellant guilty of

the  offence  punishable  under  Section  304  Part-I,  IPC,  and

imposing the aforesaid sentence upon him.  The judgment and

order  of  the  High  Court  confirming  the  conviction  of  the

appellant  under  Section  302,  IPC  and  sentencing  him  to

undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.15,000/-

shall stand modified to the extent indicated hereinabove.

........................................J.                                                 (R. V. Raveendran)

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........................................J.                                                (Lokeshwar Singh Panta)

New Delhi, August 20, 2008.

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