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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
B.R. GAVAI, SANJAY KAROL, K.V. VISWANATHAN, JJ.
Devendra Singh – Appellant
VERSUS
State Of Uttar Pradesh – Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 3185 of 2024 [Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 11919 of 2022]
Decided On : 02-08-2024
Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 302 [Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 – Section 103(1)] – Murder – Life sentence – Both accused persons have received injuries in incident – As such, possibility of scuffle between two groups cannot be ruled out – Except one injury which can be said to be caused by knife, all other injuries are abrasions and contusion – Taking into consideration nature of injuries sustained by both accused persons as well as deceased, possibility of incident taking place in a sudden fight in heat of passion, upon a sudden quarrel cannot be ruled out – There is no evidence to show that appellant has taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner – In totality of circumstances and, particularly, on account of injuries sustained by accused persons, appellant is entitled to benefit of Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC – Conviction of appellant under Section 302 IPC altered to one under Part-I of Section 304 IPC – Appellant sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 8 years. (Paras 14, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20)
Facts of the case:
Present appeal challenges judgment and order dated 08th January, 2019 passed by Division Bench of Allahabad High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 302 of 1987 wherein Division Bench dismissed Criminal Appeal preferred by Appellant and upheld order of conviction under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentence of life imprisonment dated 17th January, 1987 as recorded by Trial Court.
Findings of Court:
Except the injury at serial no.1, which can be said to be caused by knife, all other injuries are abrasions and contusion.
Result : Appeal partly allowed.
JUDGMENT
B.R. GAVAI, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. This appeal challenges the judgment and order dated 08th January, 2019 passed by the Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 302 of 1987 wherein the Division Bench dismissed the Criminal Appeal preferred by the appellant-Devendra Singh and upheld the order of conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (“IPC” for short) and sentence of life imprisonment dated 17th January, 1987 as recorded by the learned Sessions Judge, Bijnor (hereinafter referred to as “the trial court”) in S.T. No. 166 of 1986.
3. Shorn of details, the facts leading to the present appeal are as under:-
3.1 On 29th May, 1986, one Dharam Pal Singh (PW-1) lodged a written report at P.S. Afzalgarh at about 11:15 p.m. wherein he stated that pursuant to a previous dispute, the appellant and his co-accused Yogendra Pratap Singh stabbed Parpoor Singh (hereinafter referred to as ‘the deceased’) who eventually succumbed to his injuries on the very same day. On the basis of the written report, a First Information Report (‘FIR’ for short) being Crime No. 70 of 1986 came to be registered at Police Station, Afzalgarh for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC, against the appellant and his co-accused. On the conclusion of a preliminary investigation, the Police arrested the accused persons on 30th May, 1986. At the instance of the appellant, the police recovered a blood-stained knife which had been allegedly used in the commission of the crime. It is notable that at the time of their arrest, both the accused persons had injuries on their body. On 31st May, 1986, the accused persons had their injuries examined at the State Dispensary, Qadrabad whereupon they were found to have lacerated wounds and abrasions on their bodies. In the interim, the post-mortem of the deceased was conducted and the cause of death was ascertained to be shock and hemorrhage as a result of ante-mortem injuries.
3.2 The prosecution case is that a few days prior to the date of the incident, the appellant had molested the wife of Dharam Pal Singh (PW-1), the elder brother of the deceased. Angered, the deceased forbade the appellant from misbehaving with his sister-in-law in the future and further warned the appellant of dire consequences were he to repeat his actions. On the day of the incident, at about 09:30 p.m., a marriage procession was passing through Village Qadrabad, of which the deceased was one of the attendees. Owing to the marriage procession, the area was lit up with decorative lights which were powered by a high-power generator. In the meanwhile, the appellant and his co- accused reached the spot and picked up a quarrel with the deceased by bringing up their previous altercation. Being riled up about the fact that the deceased was acting as the protector of his family, the appellant exhorted to kill him. Amidst the scuffle that subsequently ensued between them, the co-accused Yogendra Pratap Singh caught hold of the deceased while the appellant stabbed him with a knife. On being struck, the deceased fell to the ground. Thereafter, in an attempt to save the deceased, Manjit Singh (PW-3) beat the accused persons with a lathi whereupon, the accused persons fled the scene. In addition to Manjit Singh (PW-3), this entire incident was also witnessed by Dharam Pal Singh (PW-1) and Kernail Singh (PW-4) who rushed over to the deceased and took him to the Government Dispensary, Qadrabad, where he was declared dead on arrival.
3.3 Upon the conclusion of the investigation, a chargesheet came to be filed before the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bijnor. Since the case was exclusively triable by the Sessions Court, the same came to be committed to the trial court.
3.4 Charges came to be framed by the trial court against the appellant for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC and against his co-accused for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC read with Section 114 of the IP
Unintentional homicide committed in a sudden fight in heat of passion, upon a sudden quarrel, is punishable under Part-I of Section 304 IPC.
Homicide committed in a sudden fight, in heat of passion and upon a sudden quarrel, is not murder under Section 302 of IPC.
The court held that when a death occurs from a single blow in the heat of passion during a sudden quarrel, it may be classified under Section 304 IPC instead of Section 302 IPC.
In cases of sudden quarrel and single injury, the nature of the injury and circumstances must be considered to determine the offense under Section 300 IPC.
The court determined that the lack of premeditated intent during a sudden quarrel warranted a conviction for culpable homicide under Section 304 instead of murder under Section 302 IPC.
The court ruled that a stabbing occurring during a quarrel, influenced by mutual provocation and intoxication, merited a conviction under Section 304-I of the IPC instead of Section 302.
A stabbing in the heat of the moment during a sudden quarrel qualifies for a lesser charge under Section 304 IPC, as per Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC.
The court established that a lack of premeditation and intention to kill in a sudden quarrel can lead to a conviction under Section 304 Part II IPC instead of Section 302 IPC.
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