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NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL  No(s). 389 OF 2019 (Arising out of (Crl.) No(s)7596/2015)

KISHAN SINGH alias ACTOR                           Appellant(s)

                               VERSUS

STATE OF UTTARANCHAL (NOW UTTARAKHAND) & ANR.      Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

BANUMATHI, J.:

(1) Leave granted.

(2) This appeal calls in question the judgment of the High

Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital in Criminal Appeal No.156 of

2005 dated 14th December, 2012 in and by which the High Court

has modified the conviction of the appellant from Section 302

I.P.C.  to  Section  304  Part-I  I.P.C.  while  maintaining  the

sentence of life imprisonment imposed upon the appellant.

(3) On 17th November, 2013 the appellant-Kishan Singh and the

deceased-Govind Singh went to the house of the appellant and

both of them were drunk.  In the wordy quarrel between the

appellant and his wife, the appellant tried to attack his wife

with an axe.  When the deceased-Govind Singh intervened the axe

fell on the parietal region of the deceased-Govind Singh and he

sustained injuries and succumbed to injuries.  The law was set

in motion by one Inder Singh Negi, brother of  the deceased-

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Govind Singh.   

(4) Based on the evidence of Rajendra Singh (PW-4) to whom

extra  judicial  confession  was  made  by  the  appellant  and

recovery of blood-stained clothes and axe from the appellant’s

house, the Trial Court convicted the appellant for the offence

punishable  under  Section  302  I.P.C.  and  sentenced  him  to

undergo  life  imprisonment.   In  appeal,  the  High  Court  has

modified  the  conviction  of  the  appellant  from  Section  302

I.P.C. to section 304 Part-I I.P.C., as aforesaid in para (2).

(5) By  order  dated  7th September,  2015  notice  was  issued

limited on the question of sentence.

(6) We  have  heard  Ms.  Anuradha  Mutatkar,  learned  counsel

appearing  for  the  appellant  and  Mr.  Ashutosh  Kumar  Sharma,

learned  counsel  appearing  for  the  respondent-State  and  also

perused  the  impugned  judgment  and  the  evidence/materials  on

record.

(7) The appellant-accused and the deceased-Govind Singh were

closed friends and used to drink together.  Admittedly, at the

time  of  occurrence  both  the  deceased-Govind  Singh  and  the

appellant-accused were drunk.  From the evidence it is brought

on record that the appellant attempted to attack his wife with

an axe and at that time deceased-Govind Singh intervened and

the axe fell on him.  Though Motima Devi (PW-1) turned hostile,

the case of the prosecution is established by the evidence of

Rajender Singh (PW-4) to whom the appellant is said to have

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made extra judicial confession and by other evidence.  Since

there was no premeditation for the occurrence, the High Court

has  rightly  modified  the  conviction  of  the  appellant  from

Section 302 I.P.C. to Section 304 Part-I.

(8) Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we

deem it appropriate to reduce the sentence of life imprisonment

of the appellant to a period of ten years while maintaining the

conviction.  Ordered accordingly.

(9) This appeal is partly allowed.

.........................J.                 (R. BANUMATHI)

.........................J.         (R. SUBHASH REDDY)

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 26, 2019.