Why Gauhati High Court refused to reduce son’s life term for killing mother over Rs 30

The court noted that the nature of the assault and the part of the body targeted were crucial. (Representative image)

• Gauhati High Court upheld life sentence for man who killed his mother in 2016
• Court ruled act showed intent to kill, rejecting sudden provocation claims.
• Eyewitness and medical evidence confirmed a fatal sharp-edged weapon assault.

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A decade after a man hacked his mother to death for refusing to give him more money to buy liquor, the Gauhati High Court has declined to show leniency, holding that the act disclosed a clear intention to kill, even if it was not planned in advance.

A bench comprising Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Kaushik Goswami was dealing with the appeal of Sankar Narayan Nandi, who questioned his life sentence for murdering his mother with a sharp-edged bothi dao, a household implement used for cutting vegetables and meat.

While confirming the conviction, the judges observed, “Though there may not have been any premeditation in the killing of the deceased by the appellant, the weapon used with great force on the neck of the deceased leads us to the conclusion that there was a sudden intention on the part of the appellant to kill the deceased.”

The court noted that the nature of the assault and the part of the body targeted were crucial.

The use of a heavy, sharp-edged weapon on a vital region, with such force that the neck was nearly severed, ruled out a case of mere rash or impulsive violence.

It also rejected the argument that the case fell within Exception 4 to Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code, which can reduce murder to culpable homicide when death occurs in a sudden fight, without premeditation, and without the offender acting cruelly or taking undue advantage.

According to the bench, there was no fight between the son and the mother that could attract the exception.

Evidence and eyewitness testimony

The judgment placed heavy reliance on the testimony of the accused’s father, who witnessed the attack. The court recorded that the father stated his son struck his wife’s neck with the bothi dao and fled with the weapon still in his hand.

Among the findings listed by the court were that it was only the appellant who had killed his mother with the bothi dao and nobody else; the provocation, if any, was initiated by the appellant when he began abusing his mother over money; and that the mother’s alleged act of giving two slaps did not amount to provocation sufficient to justify the killing.

Medical evidence showed that death was instantaneous following injury to the spinal cord. There was a chop wound measuring 12cm x 7cm on the spinal cord.

Skin, muscles, vessels, nerves, the spinous process of the 6th cervical vertebrae, the body of the 7th cervical vertebrae, and the spinal cord inside the 7th cervical vertebrae were all cut at that level.

The injury was ante mortem, caused by a sharp-edged heavy weapon, and homicidal in nature.

The court also relied on corroboration from the victim’s brother. A policeman testified that while proceeding to the place of occurrence, he saw the appellant carrying the bothi dao and heading towards the police outpost to surrender.

The bench said there was no reason to believe the appellant’s claim that his maternal uncle was responsible.

“There is nothing in the evidence to show that the father of the appellant had any reason to fabricate a story, to the effect that the appellant had killed his mother,” the court said, adding that the father’s testimony inspired confidence.

Background and rival submissions

The incident took place on the morning of March 16, 2016, at a railway quarter in Jalukbari, Guwahati. Nandi, addicted to alcohol, had earlier taken money from his mother, Gita Rani Nandi, and left home.

He later returned in an intoxicated condition and demanded more cash. When she handed him Rs 30, he became angry and started abusing her.

His maternal uncle, present at the spot, intervened, leading to a scuffle between the two men. The mother slapped Nandi, after which the uncle left the house.

Enraged, Nandi picked up the bothi dao and hacked his mother’s neck.

On July 13, a trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment. Challenging this, the defence argued that he was intoxicated and incapable of rational judgment, that there was no premeditation, and that the alleged slaps amounted to grave and sudden provocation.

Relying on Supreme Court rulings, counsel sought protection under Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC. According to the provision under Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC, culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel and without the offender's having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner.

Under the provision, it becomes immaterial in such cases which party offers the provocation or commits the first assault.

The prosecution countered that the accused himself initiated the provocation, deliberately armed himself, and struck a fatal blow on a vital part of the body. Accepting this stand, the high court dismissed the appeal and upheld the life term.