Case Note & Summary
The appellant, Balaji Kishan Nagarwad, was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Udgir, for the murder of Tukaram under Section 302 IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment. The incident occurred on 6 June 2012 when the deceased, a daily wager selling Pepsi candies, refused to give a free Pepsi to the appellant. The appellant picked up a quarrel and attacked the deceased with a stone, causing fatal head injuries. The deceased was admitted to a primary health center where he succumbed. The FIR was lodged by the deceased's uncle, Dnyaneshwar. The prosecution examined eyewitnesses, including PW-1 and PW-2, who testified to seeing the appellant assault the deceased with a stone. The medical evidence (PW-8) confirmed the cause of death as head injury. The appellant's defense was that he was falsely implicated. The trial court convicted him. On appeal, the High Court examined the evidence and found the eyewitness accounts credible and corroborated by medical evidence. The court held that the appellant's act of hitting the deceased on the head with a stone, a dangerous weapon, indicated an intention to cause death. The appeal was dismissed, and the conviction and sentence were upheld.
Headnote
A) Criminal Law - Murder - Section 302 Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Conviction upheld - Appellant attacked deceased with a stone on his head and other vital parts after deceased refused to give Pepsi for free - Medical evidence confirmed cause of death as head injury - Held that the intention to cause death can be inferred from the nature of the injury and the weapon used (Paras 1-16).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for the murder of Tukaram is sustainable on the basis of the evidence on record.
Final Decision
Appeal dismissed. Conviction and sentence of life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC upheld.
Law Points
- Murder
- Section 302 IPC
- intention to cause death
- stone attack
- vital parts
- dying declaration
- circumstantial evidence
- conviction upheld
