KHODABHAI RAIJIBHAI RATHODIYA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant is convicted for the offence of murder of his wife, Sumiben Khodabhai on 24.1.2005 at about 10.00 p.m.in their own house, preceded by an altercation and a quarrel, by causing injury on the head of the deceased with the help of a wooden log. THE judgment was rendered by the Sessions Court, Vadodara on 12.8.2005 in Sessions Case No.95 of 2005.

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are as under:

(3.) THE case of the prosecution is that the period of married span is about 10 years and it is nobody's case that their matrimonial life was disturbed in any manner or that there had been quarrels quite often. THE charge sheet that is framed at Exh.2 goes to show that there was an altercation/quarrel followed by beating the deceased with a wooden log. THE wooden log that was used is usually available in the house of agriculturists as such wooden logs are used in bullock carts. THEre is no direct evidence as to what had happened on the eventful day and it is not known. THEre is no previous history of dispute between the appellant and his wife except that, on that day, an altercation for whatever reason had taken place and in such an eventuality, possibility of the appellant having lost his control on the spur of the moment and having beaten up the deceased cannot be ruled out. In our opinion, benefit of the exceptions to Section 300 of IPC ought to have been extended to the appellant also when the charge sheet is of a quarrel followed by the occurrence of the incident. Under the circumstances, we find that the offence for which the appellant can be convicted would be of a lesser nature, in the sense that the offence would not be murder or but culpable homicide not amounting to murder.