Mumbai, January 03: The Bombay High Court has rapped a lower court judge who convicted a person for murder, but awarded a lesser punishment. “The learned Judge appears to have ignored or forgotten provisions of Section 302,” the court said in a recent judgement.
It held that convict Mohammad Amanat Ansari had not committed murder, but was guilty of “culpable homicide”. Ansari was charged with murder of a boy Uday Bagve during an altercation.
According to the prosecution case, on December 1, 1998, Bagave and his friend were playing cricket near some circus tents in suburban Borivali. The ball went into a tent twice and was taken back by the boys.
But the third time it went in, there was an altercation between the boys and the persons in the tent. During the tiff, Ansari, who worked with the circus, hit Bagve and his friend Mukesh with a bamboo staff.
Bagve died on the spot due to skull fracture. Mumbai Sessions court held Ansari guilty of murder and awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment, following which he move the High Court against the judgement.
Hearing his appeal last month, the High Court held that the act was not premeditated as “it is clear that there was no previous enmity between the parties. Possibly even they were not knowing each other.
Quarrel had taken place abruptly because cricket ball had gone into the circus area.
—PTI–