Supreme Court of India
Kamta Prasad vs State Of Uttar Pradesh on 8 September, 1993
Equivalent citations: AIR1994SC1519, 1994CRILJ1202, JT1993(5)SC171, 1993(3)SCALE666, AIR 1994 SUPREME COURT 1519, 1994 AIR SCW 994, 1994 ALL. L. J. 306, (1993) IJR 365 (SC), 1993 (2) UJ (SC) 658, (1993) 5 JT 171 (SC), (1994) 2 BLJ 36, (1993) 3 CURCRIR 350, (1993) 3 RECCRIR 579, (1993) ALLCRIR 667, (1993) 3 ALLCRILR 246, (1993) 3 SCJ 93, (1993) 3 CRIMES 370, (1994) ALLCRIC 47, (1994) SCCRIR 78, 1994 SCC (CRI) 290
ORDER K. Jayachandra Reddy, J.
1. The appellant Kamta Prasad alongwith four others was tried for offence punishable under Sections 147, 148, 302 and 302/149 I.P.C. The Trial court convicted the and sentenced him to imprisonment for life. He is also convicted under Section 148 I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo two years' R.I. The other accused were found guilty under Sections 302/149 and also Section 147 and sentenced to imprisonment for life and one year's R.I. respectively. The convicted accused preferred appeals to the High Court. The High Court confirmed the convictions and sentences awarded against the appellant. The conviction of one of the accused Jawahar under Section 302/149 was altered to one under Sections 302/34 I.P.C. The conviction of other accused were altered to under Sections 323/149 I.P.C. Only Kamta Prasad has filed the present appeal and we are not concerned with other accused. It may be mentioned here that leave was granted only limited to the extent of nature of the offence.
2. The prosecution case is as follows:
3. Ramesh Kumar (P.W.1) was a student of Degree college, Banda. Ganesh, the deceased was known to him since before the occurrence. On 14th April, 1973 Ganesh had gone to Banda and was staying with two of his friends. P.W. 1 met him and others and all of them chalked out a programme to see matinee show on 15th April, 1973. On that day P.W. 1 reached the place where the deceased was staying and all of them reached Prakash Talkies. P.W. 7 told them that he had purchased three tickets for Rs. 6/- in black. The deceased, however, insisted on seeing the picture after purchasing tickets of special class. Kamta Prasad, the appellant herein agreed to purchase the other two tickets for Rs. 4/- from P.W. 7. The deceased told the appellant that he should pay Rs. 4/- for two tickets or return both the tickets. The other accused said that they would pay no money nor return the tickets. So saying all the five accused reached the entrance of the Picture Hall. The deceased got annoyed and caught hold of the hand of the appellant. Then all the five accused started beating the deceased with kicks and fists. P.Ws 2 and 7 advanced towards the deceased in order to rescue him. At that time Siddiqui, one of the accused whipped out a knife. However, he was disarmed. Then the accused Jawahar, Om Prakash and Avinash caught hold of the deceased and on their exhortation, the appellant inflicted three knife blows to the deceased. Thereafter all the accused left the place. P.W. 1 proceeded to the Police Station and gave a report at 12.30 P.M. A case was registered and while the deceased Ganesh was being taken to the hospital, he died on the way. Inquest was held and the dead body was sent for post-mortem. The Doctor found four injuries. The second injury was an incised wound on the right thigh and the third injury was stab wound in the chest cavity in the left side near the nipple. It proved to be fatal. After completion of the investigation, the charge-sheet was laid. The accused denied the offence and set up a defence plea. Kamta Prasad, the appellant stated that a quarrel took place between his brother and Ramesh Kumar P.W. 1 and others and a criminal case was pending and they all are falsely implicated. The trial court relying on the evidence direct witnesses P.Ws 1, 2 and 7 convicted the accused.
4. All the three eye-witnesses have given a consistent version as to how the quarrel started and how the appellant stabbed the deceased. Nothing significant has been elicited in the cross-examination. We have gone through their evidence which has been accepted by both the courts below and there is no reason whatsoever not to accept their evidence. Now coming to the nature of the offence, it is clear from the evidence of the eyewitnesses that the appellant Kamta Prasad was already armed with a knife. No doubt, the quarrel was about the purchase of cinema tickets but he stabbed the deceased with a knife on a vital part namely the left side of the chest and he was being held by some of the other accused.
5. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that there was only one injury which proved fatal and other incised injuries were only on the thigh and therefore neither intention to cause the death nor intention to cause an injury sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature, was made out. Therefore the offence should be one punishable under Section 304 Part II I.P.C. We see no force in this submission. As stated above, the appellant who was already armed with a knife, inflicted the fatal injury on the helpless deceased who was already caught by the other accused. The Doctor, who conducted the post-mortem, noticed the following injuries:
(i) One hold 2 cm x .25 cm from front portion of his left leg towards the inner side in the middle line of 1 cm and 9.5 cm from the joint of the ankle.
(ii) Cut wound 3 cm x 1 cm x flesh deep in the inner side of the thigh 6 cm above the ankle joint.
(iii) Stab wound 2 cm x 1 cm x chest cavity deep in the left side of the chest 9 cm interior from the left nipple and from the lower & upper side the measurement of the cut mark is 2.5 cm and blood was oozing from the injury.
(iv) This is a soling mark of 10 cm x 7 cm area in the right side of the neck, after cutting in tissues were found.
On internal examination he found that the interior of the chest was cut and blood was present inside. The tissues of the heart towards the left were cut and its corners had clear cut mark. Left vertical was found cut and cavity on both the sides of the heart were found empty. The Doctor opined that injury No. 3 by itself was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. The circumstances spoken to by the eye-witnesses coupled with the medical evidence would clearly make out a case attracting either Clause (1) or (III) of Section 300 and therefore the appellant has rightly been convicted under Section 302 I.P.C. There are no merits in this appeal. It is accordingly dismissed.