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B. R. GAVAI, K. V. VISWANATHAN
Sunil @ Sonu – Appellant
Versus
State NCT of Delhi – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
B.R. GAVAI, J.
1. Leave granted.
2. The present appeals challenge the judgment and order dated 26th June 2023, passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in Criminal Appeals No. 408 and 137 of 2018, wherein the Division Bench dismissed the appeals filed by the appellants Sunil @ Sonu (Accused No. 1) and Nitin @ Devender (Accused No. 4). By the said judgment and order, the High Court upheld the judgment and order dated 25th October 2017 rendered by the Additional Sessions Judge, North District, Rohini, Delhi (hereinafter referred to as “the trial court”) in Sessions Case No. 139 of 2017 convicting the appellants for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as “IPC”). The High Court also upheld the order of sentence dated 6th November 2017 vide which the trial court had sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life along with fine of Rs. 10,000/- each, in default whereof simple imprisonment for 1 year for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC.
3. Shorn of details, the facts leading to the present appeals are as under:
3.1 The case of
Murder – Unintentional homicide do not come within ambit of Section 302 of IPC.
Intention to kill is essential for murder conviction; knowledge of likely death suffices for culpable homicide, requiring assessment of overall circumstances and violence nature.
The court established that actions taken in the heat of passion without premeditation can lead to a conviction for culpable homicide rather than murder.
The absence of intent to kill led to the reclassification of charges from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The court upheld the conviction for culpable homicide under Section 304, Part I, emphasizing the absence of intent to kill and the nature of the incident as a sudden fight.
Conviction for murder was altered to culpable homicide not amounting to murder due to lack of evidence for intent, emphasizing that premeditated murder requires clear intent, especially absent motive....
The court modified convictions from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, emphasizing the need for established common intention among accused, reflecting principles of reasonable doubt....
The central legal point established in the judgment is the distinction between the offences under Section 302 and Section 304 (Part-1) of the Penal Code, based on the circumstances and intent of the ....
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