HANTALA SITANNA Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal is directed against the judgment dtd. 18/12/2006 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge (FTC), Jeypore in Criminal Trial No.27 of 2006 convicting the Appellant of the offence under Sec. 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) At the outset, it requires to be mentioned that by an order dtd. 15/3/2010 the Appellant was enlarged on bail during the pendency of the present appeal.

(3.) The case of the prosecution is that there was a dispute regarding landed properties that arose between the family of the Appellant and of the deceased Hantala Mallu, son of Hantala Ramanna. The provocation for the crime was that on 5/10/2005 at around 5 pm, the deceased was seen assaulting the Appellant's father, Hantala Lachanna, in connection with the said dispute regarding the landed properties. The Appellant upon witnessing the said assault rushed to the place with a thenga and asked the deceased why he was assaulting the Appellant's father. He then proceeded to assault the deceased with the thenga on several parts of the body including the head and chest. The assault was so brutal that the deceased died an instantaneous death on the spot itself.