AIR 1954 SUPREME COURT 652

Supreme Court Of India

(From Nagpur)

Hon'ble Judge(s): Mehr Chand Mahajan, N. H. Bhagwati, T. L. Venkatarama Ayyar , JJJ

Penal Code (45 of 1860) , S.300, S.302, S.304 Part II— Offence held fell under S. 304, Part 2. The circumstances as found by the Court were that there was a severe exchange of abuses between the parties preceding the incident, that during the abuse the temper rose and both the parties came out of their respective houses in anger and that in the course of quarrel the accused dealt the fatal below on the head of the deceased with his lathi. Held that even though the circumstances were such as not to bring the case within Exception 1 to S. 300 the crime was committed without premeditation in a sudden fight in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel and without the accused having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner thus bringing the case within Exception 4 thereto with the result that the offence committed was culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The accused therefore could not be convicted of having committed an offence under S. 302 of the Indian Penal Code.(Para 4) Held further that when the fatal injury was inflicted by the accused on the head of the deceased by only one blow it could as well be that the act by which death was caused was not done with the intention of causing death or of causing such bodily injury as was likely to cause death. The act appeared to have been done with....