RAMA YESHWANT KAMAT Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused was charged under S.302 of the I. P. C. The Additional Sessions Judge, Panaji, who tried him, found that he had acted in the exercise of his right of private defence, but that he had exceeded that right. Therefore, he acquitted him of the offence under S.302, but convicted him under S.299 of the I. P. C. The accused appeals to this Court.

(2.) Shortly stated the facts of the prosecution are that at about 10-30 p.m. on April 30, 1977, at Morlem, the accused had a quarrel with his brother Vassu, during which he hit him on the head with a hammer causing Vassu's death.

(3.) The defence of the accused is as follows: that the deceased was much stronger than him; that he used to harass him on various occasions;, that on the night of the incident the accused (sic) (deceased?) beat him severely, threw him on the ground and throttled him; that while throttling the accused, the deceased had stated that he was going to kill the accused; that the accused felt suffocated and believed that the deceased who had on previous occasions also beaten and harassed him, would in fact kill him, that he therefore caught hold of the hammer, M. O. 2 which he found on the ground and hit the deceased on the head.