YUNIS Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant Yunis, was charged in the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Baramulla. (Mr. G. M. Mir) with having committed an offence punishable under section 302 R. P. C. At the trial the learned Additional Sessions Judge found that the appellant, was guilty of the offence under section 304 Part II. He convicted the appellant accordingly and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for ten years. By this appeal, the appellant has challenged his conviction as also the sentence imposed on him,

(2.) BRIEFLY put, the present prosecution case in the trial Court was as follows : Mir Alam P. W. 1 and Wahab Jani, deceased, were husband and wife having two sons, Yunis, accused, and Ghulam Nabi P. W. 5. The accused Yunis was married and lived separately depending for support principally on the land allotted to him by his father from his own. The two families occupied adjacent houses. The relations between them were cordial. On 26 -10 -1971, it so happened that a cow belonging to Mir Alam started grazing on the grass collected by the accused, Yunis, in his court yard. Ghulam Nabi, P. W. 5, went near to drive away the cow. Mst, Daryai, wife of the accused, picked up a pebble and hurled it at Ghulam Nabi which injured his lips. He started weeping and wailing. Mir Alam P. W. 1 and the deceased Wahab Jani were both in their house. Lassa Mir P. W. 2 too was there in the house wanting to get an amulet from Mir Alam. The screams of Ghulam Nabi attracted them all to the spot. Wahab Jani reached first. She strongly protested to Daryai against her behavior towards Ghulam Nabi. At that instant the accused, Yunis, came from behind the Kotha armed with a Danda and gave two blows with it to his mother ; one on her leg and, the other on her shoulder. Meanwhile Mir Alam and Lassa Mir also reached the place. Mir Alam tried to snatch the Danda from Yunis. Yunis resisted and gave a blow on his arm. Mir Alam, however, managed to snatch the Danda from Yunis. Thereafter Yunis picked up a stone from the ground and aimed it at the head of his mother, Wahab Jani. She was injured and fell unconscious on the ground and started bleeding from the nose. Mir Alam reported the matter to the police. The injured was removed to Handwara Hospital where she was examined and treated by Dr. Zubeda Mir P. W. 3. Three days after she was removed to District Hospital Baramulla where she died on 2 -11 -1971. The post -mortem on her body was performed by Dr. Mohammad Akbar P. W. 6. In his opinion the death was due to internal and external cerebral haemorrhage resulting from the injury on the head.

(3.) THE defence version was that Mst. Daryai, wife of the accused, gave a slap to Ghulam Nabi P. W. 5 and thus an altercation started between them in which Mir Alam and Yunis took sides ; Mir Alam supporting his son, Ghulam Nabi, and Yunis supporting his wife, Daryai, The result was that Mir Alam and Yunis also fell out, Mir Alam gave a beating to Yunis. The deceased, Wahab Jani. intervened to rescue Yunis and in this process received a Danda blow from Mir Alam which brought her down to the ground and eventually put an end to her life.