Srinagar Court convicts man for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, acquits other 2

Mudasir Yaqoob

Srinagar, Dec 9: Srinagar Court on Saturday convicted a man of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in a case of hitting victim with lathi resulting in his death at Soura in 2018.

After hearing Additional Public Prosecutor Mumtaz Saleem Mir and Defence Counsel, the Court of First Additional Sessions Judge, Srinagar, presided over by Khursheed-Ul-Islam observed that a fact that lathi is also capable of being used as a weapon of assault, does not make it a weapon of assault simpliciter.

Court added that in a case like the present, of an assault on the head with a lathi, it is always a question fact in each case whether there was intention to cause death or only knowledge that death was likely to occur.

“The circumstances, manner of assault, nature and number of injuries will all have to be considered cumulatively to decipher the intention or knowledge as the case may be,” court observed while referring to various provisions of law and Supreme Court judgments.

Court further observed that in the present case the parties have worked themselves in to a fury on account of verbal altercation in the beginning.

“The quarrel was with respect to the irrigation of land and it can be safely concluded that the accused were without premeditation and had acted in a sudden quarrel in a sudden fight during heat of provocation and the accused are entitled to benefit under exception 4 to section 300 RPC and are guilty of offence under section 304 part II,” Court said.

“Viewed thus, I have no hesitation in observing, at the cost of repetition that the prosecution has succeeded in proving its case beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt against the Mukhtar Ahmed Shah of Soura for committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder of the deceased Ghulam Ahamed Mir,” Court said.

The Court acquitted other two accused of all charges in the case and will hear matter on quantum of punishment on 11 December 2023.