PURAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the petitioner as also the State.

(2.) The petitioner is an accused in a case under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code in connection with Simdega P.S. Case No. 0056 of 1984. According to the allegations, he had struck the deceased by Balua causing her death instantaneously. The occasion was that the deceased was suspected to be a witch and she had uttered that she would not allow any generation of the petitioner to exist and on her these utterances he had struck her with Balua.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that it is a case of grave and sudden provocation. In my opinion, these are very unfortunate cases specially in this part of the State and, as a matter of fact, the remedy lies elsewhere and that is that instead of educating the ignorant and illiterate Adhivasis that the concept of witch-craft is simply a myth, they are being sought to be put with all the rigors of penal consequences and they are branded as murderers. The fault lies with the State and not with the petitioner. Even after such a considerable period when the welfare of the Adhivasis had been taken up at tremendous expenses nothing has been done either by the State or by any social organisation to remove from the mind of the Adhivasis that the notion of witch-craft is baseless. Under the circumstances, I entirely agree that whatever the petitioner had done, he had done in pursuance of irresistible impulses on account of a peculiar type of notion and mind which compelled him to commit the offence although without understanding that, that is covered by one of the serious penal offences under the Indian Penal Code. If the theory of punishment is correction and reformation, it becomes equally important to eradicate and also to educate the citizens to mend a prudent mind which will automatically refrain such wrong doers from committing the offences merely on account of ignorance, illiteracy and lack of proper education.