JUSTICE J. M. MALIK, PRESIDING MEMBER 1. Counsel for the petitioner heard. 2. The main question which falls for consideration is whether the deceased, Shri Naresh Thakur was murdered or he passed away due to some accident. The State Commission has come to the conclusion, in respect of both the above said insurance policies issued by two different insurance companies, that it was a case of murder and not an accident. The State Commission has placed reliance on the Supreme Court authority reported in Rita Devi (Smt.) & Ors. Vs. New India Assurance Co. & Anr., 2005(5) SCC 113. It was observed that: “10. The question, therefore is, can a murder be an accident in any given case? There is no doubt that “murder”, as it is understood, in the common parlance is a felonious act where death is caused with intent and the perpetrators of that act normally have a motive against the victim for such killing. But there are also instances where murder can be by accident on a given set of facts. The difference between a “murder” which is not an accident and a “murder” which is an accident, depends on the proximity of the cause of such murder. In our opinion, if the dominant intention of the Act is felony is to kill any particular person then such killing is not an accidental murder but is a murder simpliciter, while if the cause of murder or act of murder was originally not intended and the same was caused in furtherance of any other felonious act then such murder is an accidental murder.” 3. In this case the Ist Additional Session’s Judge, Durg, has already held that the death of the deceased was not accidental or was not due to consumption of alcohol. He further held that the death of the deceased was homicidal in nature. As a matter of fact, the deceased Naresh Kumar Thakur was murdered by one Devender Kumar Thakur. He was convicted in this case and sentenced to life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/-. The State Commission has in its well-reasoned judgment supported by a number of authorities, came to the conclusion that it was a case of murder not caused by an accident. The order passed by the State Commission cannot be faulted with. Therefore, both the revision petitions are hereby dismissed. |
