Banerjee, J. - (1.)The appellant by the grant of special leave of this Court is in appeal from the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court affirming conviction of an offence under S. 302, I.P.C. and sentence to undergo imprisonment for life and further to pay a fine of Rs. 50,000/-. The appellant has further been convicted under S. 323, I.P.C. and sentenced to imprisonment of six months and both the sentences, however, were directed to be concurrent.
(2.)Two principal issues stand canvassed for consideration in the appeal. Firstly, the order of conviction as confirmed by the High Court remains wholly unwarranted, since injuries inflicted on the deceased cannot but be termed to be in self-defence and secondly having credence on the entire prosecution story at the most the conviction should have been under S. 304, Part I and not under S. 302, I.P.C. on the state of evidence available on record.
(3.)It is at this juncture, certain factual backdrop ought to be noticed. On 6th May, 1989, around 7.00 in the morning, P.W. 12 Kishori Lal son of Devi Sahai and his brother Udai Chand (since deceased) went to the fields of Chatur Bhuj, where a wheat thrasher had been installed for thrashing the wheat. A cart belonging to Kishori Lal was standing nearby from where Mani Ram and Tuhia alias Varinder picked up a Khes and started filling the fodder in the tractor trolley by laying the fodder on Khes. The complainant side asked them to return the Khes and there was by reason whereof some altercation between the two groups : whilst altercations, however, were on, Mani Ram asked his son Tuhia to inform his uncle so that he can come to lend support of Mani Ram's group. It is in pursuance of such a call that Hukam Chand arrived but armed with a pharsa and it is this Pharsa by which Hukam Chand did inflict a blow on the head of Udai Chand and the latter on receipt of the same fell down. Whereas Mani Ram gave a Lathi blow on the head of Kishori Lal, Tuhia being the son of Mani Ram inflicted a Ballam blow on the right shoulder of Kishori Lal. The latter was also given a Ballam blow by Dayawati, wife of Hukam Chand and it is on the hue and cry that some other persons arrived on the spot and Udai Chand was removed to the Government Hospital, Mandkola and subsequently to B. K. Hospital, Faridabad and then to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.