KURUVA LINGAPPA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant was tried by the learned Sessions Judge of Kurnool on a charge under section 302 I.P.C. for the murder of one Hucheerappa on the 28th May, 1957 after lamp-lighting time at the village of Pedda Hothur in Alur taluk. The learned Sessions Judge, by a process of unsound reasoning, has found the appellant not guilty of murder but guilty only of an offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder falling under the second paragraph of section 304 I.P.C. and has sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for three years.

(2.) This appeal by the accused against his conviction and sentence came up for hearing in the first instance before my learned brother Jaganmohan Reddy, J. and he ordered notice to be issued to the accused to show cause why the sentence passed on him should not be enhanced; and evidently with a view to obviate any possible embarrassment to the accused, my learned brother directed this case to be posted before another Judge.

(3.) The facts of the prosecution case which have been established by clinching evidence are as follows: There was no prior enmity between the appellant and the deceased. At about 3 p.m. on 28th May, 1957, the deceased Hucheerappa and some others including P. Ws. 3, 4 and 5 were working in the field belonging to P. W. 5 and were engaged in preparing seed beds for raising chillies and were also putting up a fence round the seed-beds, and in so doing were closing up a foot path which ran across the field. At that juncture, the appellant came there and asked the persons who were putting up the fence as to why they were closing the foot path. P. W. 5, the owner of the field, apparently did not hear what actually was said by the appellant and so asked the deceased as to what the appellant was saying. The deceased told P. W. 5 that the appellant was raising an objection to the foot-path being closed and was threatening to remove the fence. The appellant is said to have taken umbrage at this and threatend the deceased with dire consequences for having complained against him to P W 5.