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2005 DIGILAW 1877 (SC)

OTTUPARA MUHAMMED ALIAS NANIYAPPA v. STATE OF KERALA

2005-11-25

K.G.BALAKRISHNAN, P.P.NAOLEKAR

body2005
ORDER 1. Leave granted. 2. Heard learned counsel for the appellant and for the State. 3. The appellant herein was tried along with A-2 and A-3 by the Sessions Court and all of them were convicted under Section 324 read with Section 34 IPC and the first accused alone was convicted under Section 302 IPC and the High Court acquitted Accused 2 and 3 but sustained the conviction and sentence of the appellant for offence under Section 302 IPC. There were property disputes between the accused on the one hand and the deceased Kunhachumma on the other hand. On the fateful day, the deceased Kunhachumma, along with her children, came to the property and this was objected to by the appellant and his sons. The evidence in this case shows that there was quarrel between the two groups and PW 2 and PW 3 who were the children of the deceased Kunhachumma sustained some injuries, and in the impugned judgment the Division Bench held that Accused 2 and 3 had acted in private defence as PWs 2 and 3 were armed with sticks and there was quarrel and the accused used force against them. It is also to be noticed that the deceased Kunhachumma was an old lady who intervened in the quarrel and that the present appellant caused injury to the deceased Kunhachumma but she sustained only one injury and it happened to be a fatal one, causing extensive internal injury damaging the liver. 4. The whole prosecution evidence shows that there was quarrel between the two groups and in that melee the appellant caused one injury which resulted in the death of Kunhachumma, the deceased. The offence thus would come within the purview of Section 304 Part I of the Penal Code. S. In the result, we set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant under Section 302 IPC and instead convict him under Section 304 Part I IPC and sentence him to undergo imprisonment for a period of seven years. 6. The appeal is disposed of accordingly.