This is an appeal from the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Sahiwal, convicting Riaz Beg of the murder of Yousaf Beg and sentencing him to transportation for life under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
2. The facts are fully stated in the judgment of the learned Additional Sessions Judge and need not be repeated at length. In brief, it appears that the accused and the deceased were present in the room of the School situate at a distance of about one kills from the village abadi, where the school boys, Noor Ahmad (P. W 2), Waryam (P. W. 4), Ashraf (P. W. 5) and Sakhawat (P. 6), had gone for study. White the accused lay on a mat in that room the leg of Riaz Jat touched Riaz Beg accused and then there was an exchange of abuses between the accused and the deceased. They were separated by the P. Ws. And after a few minutes, the accused took out the knife (Exh. P. 1) and inflicted a blow therewith on the left side of the chest of the deceased. The victim became unconscious and fell down and the accused was caught by the other boys, the aforesaid P. Ws.
Who raised an alarm and thereupon the other P. Ws. Namely, Baqir Beg (P. W. 3) and Sagdar Beg (P.
W 8), father and brother respec--tively of the deceased, reached the place of occurrence and found Yousaf Beg lying fatally wounded and unconscious. While he was being transported from the school to the house, Yousaf Beg died.
3. The medical evidence7shows that the deceased had two injuries: -
(1) An incised wound, 3/4' x 1/3' x 3/4', from the mid-line situated vertically in the third interspace.
(2) An abrasion, 2' x 1', top of left shoulder.
Internal examination revealed that the left pleural cavity was full of blood. The doctor found an incised wound on front of right atrium. Pericardial cavity was full of blood.
In the opinion of the doctor, death was due to shock and heamorrhage resulting from injury to the heart, which was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. This injury had been caused by a sharp-edged weapon and injury No. `2 by a blunt weapon.
4. The learned Additional Sessions Judge arrived at the con-clusion that the accused caused the fatal blow to the deceased; 'the injury was caused on a vital part and, as such, it is reason--able to assume that the accused intended to cause death and thus his act in causing the death of Yousaf deceased clearly falls within the mischief of section 302, P. P. C.'. He has therefore, convicted the accused under that section.
5. Before me, learned counsel for the appellant has not seriously contested the finding as to the accused having struck the knife blow to the deceased, which proved fatal. He has, however, vehemently contended that the offence as disclosed and established by the prosecution falls under section 304 (Part II) and not section 302, P. P. C. It is argued that the accused had inflicted the blow without any premeditation. He is related to the deceased and there was no animosity.
Learned counsel maintained that in a somewhat similar case, Abdul Lals and another v. State (PLD 1970 Dacca 790the offence was held as under section 304 (Part Il), P. P. C. And the sentence awarded was five years' rigorous imprisonment,
6. Admittedly, there was no premeditation on the part of the accused. There was no previous enmity between the accused and the deceased. The deceased and the accused are inter-related, as the mother of the deceased is the niece of the father of the accused and the mother of the accused is the niece of Baqir Beg (P. W. 3), the father of the deceased. The attack by the accused was the result of exchange of abuses and in the heat of the moment the accused drew out his knife and stabbed his opponent in the chest. However, I do not agree with learned counsel for the appellant that the crime weapon (Exh. P. 1) was a penknife. Its blade, according to the recovery memo. Exh. P. C. Is 31' with a steel handle 41' long. It was a dangerous weapon, asit had actually caused a fatal injury and the accused though he did not intend to cause death or to cause such injury as was likely to cause death by giving a stab in the chest. Having regard to the peculiar circumstances and facts of the case, I find that the offence committed by the accused is one of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and would fall under section 304 (Part II), P. P. C. I, accordingly alter his conviction from section 302, P: P. C. To section 304 (Part I1), P. P. C. And bearing in mind the fact that the appellant's age is only 18, I sentence him to seven years' rigorous imprisonment. The appeal is allowed to the extent indicated above.