Criminal Law Moot Problem.

The Democratic Republic of Amphissa is situated in the Asian Subcontinent.

Amphissa is a quasi-federal country comprised of 35 states with a strong central
Government. The Laws of Amphissa are in similar to the laws of the United
Kingdom. Pallaka is among one of the developed states of Amphissa. Samuel and
Tatiana are citizens of Amphissa. They are residents of Kartos, a small town
situated in Pallaka.
On 30th July, 2021 Samuel, aged 29, son of the Late John, resident of 54/3-New
Ext. Apartment, Kartos, and Tatiana, aged 26, daughter of Defrado, resident of
Greater Machar Colony, they were married according to their religious rituals.
Their marital life was going smoothly. On some occasions they used to have few
verbal quarrels with each other but they reconciled soon after the verbal fight.
Three years after the marriage Tatiana gave birth to a baby girl on 4th September
2024. The girl was named as Samantha. A few months after Samantha was born,
Tatiana observed certain changes in Samuel’s behavior. Samuel started behaving
rudely and he usually became violent on petty issues without any reason. Initially
Tatiana did not take the matter seriously but when the violent behavior continued,
Tatiana took Samuel to Dr. Pogba (DW1), who was a psychiatrist, out of concern
for his mental health. Dr. Pogba diagnosed Samuel with first stage Bipolar Mood
Disorder (bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain
disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability
to carry out day-to-day tasks. There are four basic types of bipolar disorder; all of
them involve clear changes in mood, energy, and activity levels. Following the
diagnosis, Dr. Pogba prescribed certain medication for daily use to balance
Samuel’s moods and recommended regular psychological counseling.
In spite of the medical treatment, Samuel continued to exhibit violent behavior. He
became violent on every slight provocation and also started to fight with Tatiana.
He soon became physically abusive and neighbors reported hearing loud shouting
at all hours. Multiple neighbors also mentioned that around this time Tatiana
appeared to carry multiple bruises and injuries.
On 5th December, 2024 at 11am, loud noises of fighting, crying and shouting were
coming from Samuel’s and Tatiana’s house. Tatiana was heard yelling at Samuel
“even your own daughter hates you, you are a nightmare for your family get lost”
by the neighbor Donny. On hearing this Donny (PW3) rushed to Samuel’s house.
Upon arrival he found the door open, Donny went inside and found Tatiana lying
unconscious on the floor with blood pooling under her. She appeared to be covered
in injuries. Donny was shocked and on looking around saw Samuel hiding a 7 inch
iron axe in the garden. Thereafter Donny immediately called the police and Tatiana
was taken to a government hospital whereby she was treated by Dr. Andrews
(PW2).
Samuel was arrested by the police on the same day and was taken into police
custody. On 6th December, 2024 Tatiana regained consciousness and her statement
was recorded by Jaison (PW1) Deputy Chief Constable of Kartos Police Station. In
her statement she told to the police that on 5th December at 10 am Samuel came
home and started fighting with her and when she resisted Samuel went into the
garden and returned with an axe which he then used to attack her.
On 8th December, 2024 Tatiana died of a viral infection contracted during her stay
in the hospital. The infection was spread due to the poor hygiene habits adopted by
the hospital. The injuries she suffered from the attack in her lower abdomen were
getting better from the treatment, however her body could not fight off both the
viral infection and the injuries she had sustained. Samantha was sent to
Government Child Care Centre.
On the basis of the statement of Donny and Tatiana’s statement, a FIR was lodged
against Samuel 733/2024 in Flemingo police station. Samuel was prosecuted for
the murder of Tatiana under the Homicide Act. During interrogation Samuel stated
that he was unconscious at the time Tatiana was attacked and has no memory of
the incident. He told police that when he regained consciousness, he found Tatiana
lying on the floor and the axe in his hand. Samuel further stated that he did not
know where the axe came from or how Tatiana died.
A Final Report was submitted on 3rd February 2025 in which Samuel was charged
with the murder of Tatiana. The case (State of Pallaka vs. Samuel) was tried by the
Session Court vide Session Trial No-57/2025.
The prosecution examined the material witnesses in the court as under:-
Prosecution Witness 1 (PW1)- Jaison, Deputy Chief Constable, Flemingo Police
Station and Investigating Officer of the case deposed before the Court that the
deceased Tatiana in her dying declaration blamed the accused, Samuel, for the
attack. PW1 also deposed before the Court that the axe used in the attack was
recovered from Samuel’s garden and the forensic report states that Samuel’s finger
prints were found on the axe
Prosecution Witness 2 (PW2)- Dr. Andrew, who treated Tatiana, deposed before
the Court that the cause of death was the viral infection that made the injuries on
the victim’s abdomen caused by the axe worse leading to death. He also deposed
that Tatiana was in a mentally fit condition at the time of making her statement to
PW1 as one can be in her condition.
Prosecution Witness 3 (PW3)- Donny, Samuel and Tatiana’s neighbor and
informant of the case in the FIR deposed that he saw the unconscious body of
Tatiana on the floor and Samuel trying to hide the axe in the garden.
The accused Samuel took the plea that he was suffering from Bipolar Mood
Disorder, for which he was being treated. He also stated that at the time when
Tatiana was attacked he was suffering from the disorder and was out of his
conscience and he was not aware of the nature of the act and therefore, he could
not be made liable on ground of insanity.
The defense examined the material witnesses in the court as under:-
Defense Witness1 (DW1)- Dr. Pogba who was treating Samuel for Bipolar Mood
Disorder stated before the Court that Samuel was suffering from Bipolar Mood
Disorder and the disorder was such as to make Samuels action more volatile than
other in certain situations, however there was no reason for his condition to persist
given Samuel persisted with the treatment prescribed to him.
Defense Witness 2 (DW2)- Mathew, Samuel’s brother who stated before the
Court that Samuel had a history of aggressive and violent behavior, and once
assaulted him too with a bat over a sport dispute.
On 3rd September, 2024 Samuel was found guilty of intentional murder of Tatiana
and was sentenced to life imprisonment under schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice
Act 2003.
Samuel subsequently filed an appeal before the High Court of Pallaka dated 9th
October 2026 bearing Criminal Appeal No. 875/2026 The High Court found that
the accused at the time of commission of the crime was suffering from both legal
and medical disease of the mind and accordingly the High Court reduced the
charge to voluntary manslaughter from the charge of murder on 5th November
2026.
State of Pallaka preferred an appeal before the Supreme Court of Amphissa against
the order of manslaughter by the High Court of Pallaka on 17th of November 2026
to convict of murder.
The case of State of Pallaka vs. Samuel is listed before the Divisional Bench of
Supreme Court of Amphissa for final hearing on 10th January 2027. The respective
counsels are expected to submit their considerations on the following issues:-

1. Whether there are sufficient grounds for the charge of murder to be held.
2. Whether the chain of causation was uninterrupted.
3. Whether sufficient grounds exist for a partial defense to the charge of
manslaughter.
4. The parties may raise any other issue on the given facts to advance
arguments.
https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/legal-liability-hais-understanding-
infection-preventions-role-risk-management