Son can’t murder father for just being scolded: Bombay HC

A mere scolding by the father, not in a filthy language, cannot provoke any reasonable man to kill him, held the Bombay High Court bench in Aurangabad recently while upholding the conviction of a man, a priest of Kolhapur and Shirdi.

The HC even upheld his life imprisonment as imposed by a lower court. A bench of Justices Vishwas Jadhav and Sandipkumar More was hearing a plea filed by Netaji Tele, 29, a resident of Osmanabad, who was convicted in December 2014.

As per the prosecution case, Netaji was a priest in temples at Kolhapur and Shirdi. His father wanted him to work somewhere and on an unfortunate day in December 2013, his father scolded him and asked him not to come home if he didn't do some proper job. Unhappy with the father's scolding, Netaji slapped the old man and when his father questioned his behavior, he removed a knife and stabbed the father, killing him on the spot. Netaji told the bench led by Justice Jadhav he committed the murder on the spur of the moment.

He claimed he was suddenly provoked by his father's scolding. Thus, he argued that his act could be classified as culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Noting the contention, the judges said, ""Even if we assume the father scolded his son, no reasonable man is likely to lose self control as a result of such provocation."