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Judgment
Heard Ms. P Dhar, the learned legal aid counsel for the appellant and Mr. R C Debnath, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor representing the State-respondent.
This criminal appeal is directed against the judgment dated 03-8-2013 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khowai, West Tripura in Case No.S.T.03(WT/K) of 2012 convicting the appellant under Section 302 IPC and sentencing him to undergo life imprisonment with a fine of Rs.5,000/- and to undergo another one year of rigorous imprisonment in default of payment of the fine.
The case of the prosecution is that on 16-11-2004, Shri Manoranjan Debbarma of North Ghilatali of Raidas Para lodged an FIR with the Kalyanpur Police Station to the effect that in the evening of 15-11-2004 his son (Alam Debbarma, aged about 23 years) had gone to the house of his father-in-law at Jumia Colony. At night, at about 8.30 PM of the same day, his son, Alam (the deceased), on hearing hue and cry from the house of his elder brother, rushed there. On reaching there, the appellant suddenly gave a wooden blow on the head of his son, which resulted in his instantaneous death. On the basis of the FIR so lodged, the police registered Kalyanpur P.S Case No.27/2004 U/s 302 IPC and after completion of the investigation, they submitted the charge sheet against the appellant to face the trial. On commitment, the learned Additional Sessions Judge framed the charge against the appellant under Section 302 IPC, to which the appellant pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. In the course of trial, the prosecution examined 6 witnesses and 10 exhibits to prove the charge levelled against the appellant. On completion of the trial, the learned Additional Sessions Judge passed the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence convicting the appellant U/s 302 IPC. Aggrieved by the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence, this appeal has been preferred by the appellant.
On careful perusal of the evidence on record and after considering the submissions of the learned counsel appearing for the parties, we are not satisfied that the prosecution has clearly made out a case for the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 IPC. On the other hand, the evidence clearly suggests that the appellant actually, on the spur of the moment, hit the deceased on his head with firewood which resulted in his instantaneous death; there is absolutely no evidence to hold that there was any intention on the part of the appellant to kill the deceased. On the contrary, this is a fit case for the conviction of the appellant under Section 304(Part-II) IPC. The appellant has already undergone an imprisonment for about 5 years and 8 months in jail. Considering the matter from all angles, the appeal is partly allowed with the following directions:
(1) The appellant stands convicted under Section 304(Part-II) IPC.
(2) The appellant is sentenced to the period already undergone by him in jail.
(3) The appellant is, therefore, set at liberty forthwith unless he is wanted in connection with some other case.
(4) The impugned judgment stands modified only in the manner and to the extent indicated above.
(5) Transmit the LC record forthwith.
(6) A copy of this judgment shall be supplied to Mr. R C Debnath, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor, for communication to the concerned.