Arijit Pasayat, J. - (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment of a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court, Bench at Goa upholding the conviction of the appellant for offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the Rs. IPC). The appellant has faced trial alongwith Ashish Culaco and both were convicted in the aforesaid way. The accused persons were tried by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Margao on a charge of having committed murder of one Shashikant Kawade (hereinafter referred to as the Rs. deceased) by stabbing him with a knife on his chest on 18.5.1998 in the night.
(3.) Prosecution version, in a nutshell, is as follows: The appellant accused and his colleague Ashish Culaco were pick pocketers and on 18.5.1998 the deceased Shashikant Kawade had slapped one of them because of which they had threatened the deceased Shashikant Kawade with dire consequences. On the same day at about 2.00 p.m. they had visited the room of Shashikant Kawade and in the presence of his wife, they provoked him to come out of his house by abusing him but Shashikant Kawade was not permitted to go out of the house. The appellant and Ashish left the place. On the same day in the evening at about 8.15 p.m. when Shashikant Kawade was sitting outside Rs. Napolean Bar, he heard shouts of Rs. chor chor from the nearby huts on which Shashikant Kawade rushed towards that direction followed by Rafik Gondi and when he reached in the field, there was exchange of hot words in course of a quarrel and appellant accused and the co-accused assaulted him and the appellant accused took out a knife and stabbed Shashikant Kawade on the chest because of which he collapsed on the ground. The appellant accused and the co-accused tried to run away from the scene of offence. But they were accosted and assaulted by the public with rods and kicks. In the meantime the police arrived at the spot and took away injured Shashikant Kawade as well as both the accused persons to the hospital and on the way he died. After completing the investigation, charge sheet against the appellant accused and the co-accused was filed and the matter was committed by the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Margao to the Court of Session. Since accused abjured guilt, trial was held. The trial Court relied on the evidence of the prosecution witnesses and recorded the conviction and imposed sentence as aforesaid. In appeal, the primary stand was that the occurrence took place in the course of sudden quarrel and, therefore, Section 302 IPC has no application. It is pointed out that the deceased had slapped the appellant. He was a pick- pocket and in the course of altercation fighting took place. The High Court did not find any substance in the plea and dismissed the appeal. The stand taken before the High Court was re-iterated in the present appeal.;