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13. All that the evidence proves is that after the said incident the appellant was seen crying and depressed and when asked by his colleagues he is said to have narrated his tale of humiliation at the hands of the deceased. There is no evidence to prove that after the incident aforementioned the appellant had continued to suffer a prolonged spell of grave provocation. By their nature such provocation even when sudden and grave cool off with passage of time often lapsing into what would become a motive for taking revenge whenever an opportunity arises. That appears to have happened in the present case also for the appellant's version is that he and his colleagues had planned to avenge the humiliation by beating up the deceased in the evening when they all assemble near the water heating point. That apart, the appellant attended to his normal duty during the day time and after the evening dinner, went to perform his guard duty at 2100 hrs. All these circumstances do not betray any signs of grave leave alone grave and sudden provocation to have continued haunting the appellant and disturbing his mental equilibrium or depriving him of self control that is an essential attribute of grave and sudden provocation to qualify as a mitigating factor under Exception 1 to Section 300 IPC.

14. It was contended by Mr. Sisodia that although between the incident that happened at noon and the shooting of the deceased at 2130 hrs. were separated by nearly seven hours interval, the nature of the provocation continued to be grave within the meaning of Exception 1 to Section 300 IPC. We find it difficult to accept that submission. Grave provocation within the meaning of Exception 1 is a provocation where judgment and reason take leave of the offender and violent passion takes over. Provocation has been defined by Oxford Dictionary, as an action, insult, etc. that is likely to provoke physical retaliation. The term grave only adds an element of virulent intensity to what is otherwise likely to provoke retaliation.

18. The position in the case at hand is no different. Between 1400 hrs. when the appellant was given a grave provocation and 2130 hrs., the time when the appellant shot the deceased there were seven hours which period was sufficient for the appellant to cool down. A person who is under a grave and sudden provocation can regain his cool and composure. Grave provocation after all is a momentary loss of one's capacity to differentiate between what is right and what is not. So long as that critical moment does not result in any damage, the incident lapses into realm of memories to fuel his desire to take revenge and thus act a s a motivation for the commission of a crime in future. But any such memory of a past event does not qualify as a grave and sudden provocation for mitigating the offence. The beating and humiliation which the accused had suffered may have acted as a motive for revenge against the deceased who had caused such humiliation but that is not what falls in Exception 1 to Section 300 of the IPC which is identical to Exception 1 to Section 300 of the Ranbir Penal Code applicable to the State of Jammu & Kashmir where the offence in question was committed by the appellant. We may, in this regard, extract the following passage from Mancini v. Director for Public Prosecutor [1941] 3 All E.R. 272 :

19. The contention that the day time incident being such that the appellant could get a grave provocation, the moment he saw the deceased coming towards the place where he was on guard duty, also has not appealed to us. It is not the case of the appellant that the deceased had come close to him or tried to act fresh with him so as to give to the appellant another provocation that could possibly justify his losing self-control and using his weapon. The appellant's version that he had called halt as all Jawans on guard duty are trained to do in operational areas but when the person approaching him did not stop and when he recognised the person to be none other than the deceased shot him, clearly suggests that the deceased was not in close physical proximity to the appellant. The appellant may have been angry with the deceased for his act of misdemeanour. But any such anger would only constitute a motive for taking revenge upon the deceased. It could not be described as a grave and sudden provocation for which deceased could have been shot the moment he came in front of the appellant. The deceased, at any rate, could not be accused of having given any provocation to the appellant by moving towards the place where the appellant was on guard duty for the deceased was well within the sphere of his duty to keep an eye on those who were performing the guard duty. The very act of appearance of the deceased near the picket/post where the appellant was on duty could not, therefore, constitute a provocation within the meaning of Exception 1 to Section 300 IPC.