Judgment : THANGAMANI, J. ( 1 ) APPEAL against the conviction and sentence of imprisonment for life passed under Section 302 I. P. C. by the learned Sessions Judge of Dharmapuri at Krishnagiri in S. C. No. 63 of 1985 on his file. ( 2 ) THE charge against the appellant under Section 302 I. P. C. is that at about 8. 30 p. m. on 29. 4. 1985 at Karnnu karan kottai, Sundekuppam village he committed the murder by his son Lakshmanan Akkulavayan by cutting him with a Kaiaruval on his right elbow, right upper arm, left leg and left thigh. ( 3 ) THE prosecution examined 13 witnesses filed 12 Exhibits and marked 8 M. Os. Of the witnesses examined, P. W. 1 Sarada wife of the deceased turned hostile. The evidence available discloses that deceased Lakshmanan Akkulavayan and his wife P. W. 1 sarada were residing in a field shed in Sundekuppam. The appellant and his wife P. W. 2 Kaliammal were put up in a nearby house. Houses of P. W. 4 Perumal and his brother P. W. 5 Chinnasamy are located near be house of the deceased. The appellant took a palmairah tope on lease. Since deceased plucked the fruits of those trees there was quarrel between the father and son. On the day of the occurrence at 6. 00 p. m. , there was a wordy duel between the appellant and his son. At that time, the deceased beat his father once. P. W. 5 Chinnasamy and others separated them. The appellant challenged that he would see later and went away. On that night, the deceased and. his wife P. W. 1 were sleeping outside their house. At about 8. 30 p. m. M. O. 1 light was burning. The appellant came from his house which is 15 ft. away and cut the right hand, left thigh and left leg of his son. P. W. 2 Kaliammal, the wife of the appellant and mother of the deceased saw the same and shouted. P. W. 1 Sarada also made noise. On hearing the same, P. W. 4 Perumal and P. W. 5 Chinnasamy came running. They saw that the deceased had sustained bleeding injuries on his right hand, left leg and left thigh. At 9. P. W. 1 Sarada also made noise. On hearing the same, P. W. 4 Perumal and P. W. 5 Chinnasamy came running. They saw that the deceased had sustained bleeding injuries on his right hand, left leg and left thigh. At 9. 00 p. m. on that day, they took the deceased to a private nursing home run by P. W. 7 Doctor Natarajan. It was represented to him that a person fell from the palmairah tree and sustained injuries with the knife in his waist Thereupon, P. W. 7 Doctor treated him. However at 12. 00 mid night the injured passed away. P. Ws. 4 and 5 brought the body to his house. ( 4 ) ON 30. 4. 1985 at 8. 00 a. m. P. W. 1 went to the Police Station and gave Ex. P. 15 complaint to p. W. 12 Sub Inspector. He registered the same in his Station Cr. No. 113 of 1985 under Section 302 I. P. C. preps Ex. P. 16 Express F. I. R. and sent both the documents to J. S. C. M. Court ( 5 ) ON receipt of die information, P. W. 13 Inspector visited the scene place at 9. 00 a.m. and prepared Ex. P. 8 Observation Mahazar which was attested by P. W. 8 Kannayiram. He also prepared. Ex. P. 17 rough sketch. At 9. 30 a. m. he seized M. O. 5 blood stained earth, M. O. 6 sample earth and M. O. 1 hurricane light from there under Ex. P. 18 Mahazar which was also attested by P. W. 8 Kannayiram. From 10. 00 a. m. to 1. 00 p. m. he held inquest over the dead body and prepared Ex. P. 19 Inquest Report At that time, he examined P. W. 1 Sarada, P. W. 2 Kaliammal, P. W. 4 Perumal and P. W. 5 Chinnasamy. Then he handed over the body to P. W. 10 constable for postmortem with Ex. P. 11 requisition. ( 6 ) ON the same day at 3. 45 p. m. P. W. 3 Doctor commenced the post-mortem in the Government Hospital, Kaveripattinam. He found these injuries:. . . rigor mortis present in lower limbs and passed off in upper limbs. Its was the body of a moderately built male person aged about 30 years lying with arms closed to sides on its back. Eyelids closed. 45 p. m. P. W. 3 Doctor commenced the post-mortem in the Government Hospital, Kaveripattinam. He found these injuries:. . . rigor mortis present in lower limbs and passed off in upper limbs. Its was the body of a moderately built male person aged about 30 years lying with arms closed to sides on its back. Eyelids closed. Mouth partially opened, tongue inside the mouth and watery fluid from the mouth and nostrils and body was cold and rigor mortis passed off in upper limbs and present in lower limbs. External injuries:1. Incised injury present over the right upper arm and right elbow joint 5-1/2 in length. Wound found sutured. On exploration, muscles tissues and blood vessels in cut region injured. Blood clots present in the wound. Injury extends whole of the anterior surface of the right elbow joint. Lower end of right humerus seen through the wound. Depth of the wound-is 1-1/2. 2. An incised injury present over the protestor surface of the right upper arm, right shoulder and right scapular area, 7 in length and found sutured. On exploration depth of the injury is 2- 1/2. Muscles and blood vessels in the region injured upper end of the right humerus (head of the humerus) found injured (cut ). 3. An incised injury present over the left shoulder over the anterior lateral surface 3_1/2t1 in length and wound found sutured. On exploration muscles and blood vessels injured in this area. Depth of the injury is 1-1/2 and upper end of the right humerus injured seen. 4. An incised transverse injury present over the left thigh and length is 4-1/2 over the anterior lateral surface and wound found sutured. On exploration depth of the injury is 2 and muscles and blood vessels in this area injured. 5. Abrasion present over the left clavicular area 3/4 x 1/4 in size. Internal examinations: 1. Abdomen uniform. 2. Heart Wt. 200 gms. chambers empty. 3. Lungs right wgt. 420 gms. left lung wgt. 350 gms. pale. 4. Hyoid bone intact. 5. Stomach weight with contents 500 gms. weight without contents 150 gms. contents undigested ragi food present. 6. Liver weight 800 gms. pale. 7. Spleen wgt. 60 gms. pale. 8. Kidneys right wgt. 100 gms. left wgt. 100 gms. pale. 9. Bladder empty. 10. Brain wgt. 1200 gms. No. facture to Skull. Time of death within 24 hours prior to autopsy. Stomach weight with contents 500 gms. weight without contents 150 gms. contents undigested ragi food present. 6. Liver weight 800 gms. pale. 7. Spleen wgt. 60 gms. pale. 8. Kidneys right wgt. 100 gms. left wgt. 100 gms. pale. 9. Bladder empty. 10. Brain wgt. 1200 gms. No. facture to Skull. Time of death within 24 hours prior to autopsy. The Doctor is of the opinion that the deceased would appear to have died of shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries. Ex. P. 2 is the post mortem certificate issued by him. The external injury No. 5 could be caused by coming into contact with rough surface. The external injury Nos. 1 to 4 are sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature, because of the profuse bleeding in those injuries. Major blood vessels have also been cut because of those injuries. After post-mortem M. O. 3 Dhothi, M. O. 4 waist cord from the dead body and entrusted the same in the Police Station. ( 7 ) ON 2. 5. 1985 at 2. 00 p. m. P. W. 13 Inspector arrested the appellant near the bridge in Avadanapatti in the presence of P. W. 9 Kumaresan. The appellant gave a confession statement the admissible portion of which is Ex. P. 9. Pursuant to the same, the appellant took him to Chinnapolur rock and produced M. O. 13 koduval from beneath the rock. The Inspector seized the Koduval under Ex. P. 10 mahazar which was attested by P. W. 9 Kumaresan. At 4. 30 p. m. on that day, the Inspector seized M. O. 7 Shirt, M. O. 8 Dhothi from the appellant under Ex. P. 20 Mahazar. ( 8 ) ON receipt of Ex. P. 11 requisition from P. W. 13 Inspector, the blood stained articles were sent for chemical examination from J. S. C. M. Court under Ex. P. 12 covering letter. Ex. P. 13 and Ex. P. 14 are the reports of the Chemical Examiner and Serologist. ( 9 ) ON 9. 5. 1985, the Inspector sent Ex. P. 3 requisition to J. S. C. M. recorded the confession statement of the appellant as per procedure after giving necessary warnings. Ex. P. 6 is the said statement recorded under Section 164 Cr. P. C. ( 10 ) WHEN examined under Section 313 Cr. P. C. the appellant denied the allegations given him. 5. 1985, the Inspector sent Ex. P. 3 requisition to J. S. C. M. recorded the confession statement of the appellant as per procedure after giving necessary warnings. Ex. P. 6 is the said statement recorded under Section 164 Cr. P. C. ( 10 ) WHEN examined under Section 313 Cr. P. C. the appellant denied the allegations given him. However, he conceded that he was given necessary warnings by the J. S. C. M. He also stated that because police beat him, he gave the confession statement. ( 11 ) ON an appraisal of the evidence, oral and documentary, the learned Sessions Judge, found the appellant guilty, convicted and sentenced him as indicated earlier. ( 12 ) THE dispute that arose between father and son in connection with the plucking of fruits from the palmairah tope by deceased Lakshmanan is stated to be the motive for the appellant assaulting his son Lakshmanan. Though P. W. 4 Perumal admits in cross examination that he has no personal knowledge about the appellant taking on lease, the palmairah tope and the dispute between him and his son in that connection, P. W. 5 Chinnasamy speaks in details about the altercation that took place at 6. 00 p. m. on the date of occurrence. According to him, the deceased beat his father during the course of the duel. P. W. 2 Kaliammal the wife of the appellant also states that she was present when her son beat her husband on that evening. She also says that the appellant challenged the deceased and went away. Considering the relationship between the appellant and the deceased it is likely that the appellant was sore because his son had beat him. P. W. 1 Sarada wife of the deceased has turned hostile. However P. W. 2 Kaliammal narrates how at about 8. 30 p. on that day her band cut on the right arm, left arm and left thigh of her son with M. O. 1 Aruval. There was light in the scene place as M. O. 1 hurricane light was burning there. When she shouted P. W. 4 Perumal and P. W. 5 Chinnasamy had rushed to the place. Both of them had seen the deceased with cut and bleeding injuries in both the hands and left thigh. There was light in the scene place as M. O. 1 hurricane light was burning there. When she shouted P. W. 4 Perumal and P. W. 5 Chinnasamy had rushed to the place. Both of them had seen the deceased with cut and bleeding injuries in both the hands and left thigh. Both P. W. 4 Perumal and P. W. 5 Chinna samyare the nephew of the appellant We find from the plan Ex. P. 17 that they are adjacent house owners. The appellant and the deceased were put up in thereby houses. P. W. 2 Kaliammal as well as P. W s. 4 and 5 viz. Perumal and Chinnasamy are natural witnesses and where is no reason for them to speak against the appellant. Nothing has been elicited in their cross-examination to discredit their testimony. ( 13 ) IMMEDIATELY after the occurrence P. W. 4 and P. W. 5 had taken the deceased to the private nursing home of P. W. 7 Doctor Natarajan. The evidence of this Doctor which stands unassailed, proves the presence of P. W. 4 Perumal and P. W. 5 Chinnasamy soon after the occurrence at the scene place. Further the evidence of P. W. 3 Doctor who has conducted the post -mortem discloses that there were two incised injuries on the right arm, one incised injury over the left shoulder and another incised injury over the left thigh. These injuries amply substantiate the ocular version of P. W. 2 Kaliammal as to the manner of attack. The Doctor also states that those injuries could have been caused by a Koduval like M. O. 2 and are sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. ( 14 ) ON 2. 5. 1985, at 2. 00 p. m. P. W. 13 Inspector-has arrested the appellant. Pursuant to Ex. P. 9 confession given by him he has produced M. O. 2 Koduval. Since Ex. P. 14 Serologist repot does not indicate the result of the group of human blood found on this Koduval the recovery of the same is not of any significance. However, we find from this report that M. O. 5 blood stained earth, M. O. 7 shirt, M. O. 8 Dhothi as well as M. O. 3 cloth contained TB group of human blood. However, we find from this report that M. O. 5 blood stained earth, M. O. 7 shirt, M. O. 8 Dhothi as well as M. O. 3 cloth contained TB group of human blood. This would indicate that the place of occurrence was in front of the cattle shed of the deceased from where the blood stained earth was recovered. This also goes in spoon of the prosecution version regarding the happening of the incident. ( 15 ) AND above all, as per the evidence of P. W. 6 J. S. C. M. , the appellant has voluntarily given Ex. P. 6 confession before him. In this he states that there used to be frequent quarrel between him and his son. One month prior to the occurrence his, son beat and broke his hand. On the date of occurrence he cut the left hand and left leg of his son with an aruval. Though the appellant now states when he was examined under Section 313 Cr. P. C that the police coerced him to give the statement, he concedes that P. W. 6 J. S. C. M. gave the necessary warnings and time to think. While so, it is evident that his statement before the Magistrate could only be voluntary and his present retraction is only an after thought. In the circumstances, we have no hesitation in agreeing with the learned trial Judge that it is the appellant who had caused the death of his son Lakshmanan. ( 16 ) THE learned counsel for the appellant argued that the offence could come only, under Section 304 Part II I. P. C. and the cortication under Section 302 I. P. C. was not proper. On a careful consideration of this argument of the learned defence counsel, we are of the view that there is force in this claim. We find from Ex. P. 6 confession statement of the appellant that he was somewhat frustrated since he was not given proper food. And he could not tolerate when his some deceased had slapped him about 6. 00 p. m. on that day naturally he took it so heart and perhaps he wanted to retaliate. However-it does not appear that he desired to do away with his son. The nature of injuries would indicate the absence of any intention on the pan of the appellant to cause the death of his son. 00 p. m. on that day naturally he took it so heart and perhaps he wanted to retaliate. However-it does not appear that he desired to do away with his son. The nature of injuries would indicate the absence of any intention on the pan of the appellant to cause the death of his son. Though he was armed with an aruval and there was nobody to prevent him from continuing his assault, he had not dealt any blow on the vital parts of the body. Instead he had cut only the arms and legs of the deceased. And as per the medical evidence because of the shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries death had occurred. So we are inclined to hold that the appellant-had only knowledge that he was likely by his act to cause cheats which is culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 299 I. P. C. So he is punishable only under Section 304 Part II I. P. C. ( 17 ) IN the result, the appeal is allowed and the conviction is modified to one under Section 304 Part II I. P. C. and for the modified conviction he is sentenced to undergo R. I. for five years. Appeal partly allowed.