The judgment establishes the importance of assessing evidence to determine individual culpability in criminal acts and the application of the principle of vicarious liability under Section 34 IPC.

R.K. Gauba, J.

1. The appellant stood trial in the Court of Sh.Sanjay Garg, Additional Sessions Judge (East), Karkardooma on the charge for offences punishable under Section 302/34 Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under Section 307/34 IPC allegedly committed in the course of an incident that occurred at 7.10 PM on February 24, 2012 near house No.B-1/25, Rajbir Colony, Gharauli Extension, Delhi within the jurisdiction of Police Station Ghazipur (hereinafter referred to as “the police station”). As per the police case, three other persons had participated in the incident sharing the common intention with the appellant, they being Suraj, Babu and Ravi, each a juvenile in conflict with law (JCL). It is stated that all the said three persons namely Suraj (JCL), Babu (JCL) and Ravi (JCL) have faced separate proceedings before the juvenile justice board. On conclusion of the trial in Court of Sessions the appellant was held guilty and convicted for offences under Sections 302/323/34 IPC vide judgment dated August 27, 2014. While the finding on the charge under Section 302 IPC was that the appellant had shared common intent with Babu (JCL) who dealt the fatal stab wound, the trial court held that the charge under Section 307 IPC qua the injuries inflicted on two other victims was not proved since the assault was not with “intent to murder”, the injuries suffered being simple in nature. Vide the order on sentence that followed (on September 06, 2014), the learned Additional Sessions Judge awarded imprisonment for life with fine of Rs.2,000/- for offence under Section 302/34 IPC, besides rigorous imprisonment for one year with fine of Rs.1,000/- for offence under Section 323/34 IPC. In default, the appellant has been sentenced to undergo further simple imprisonment for one month on each count. Both the substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently.

2. The appellant, feeling aggrieved with the findings of guilty recorded against him and the sentence imposed, has come up through this appeal to this Court. The appeal is resisted by the State on the basis of trial Court record.

3. It is apposite at this stage to take brief note of the background facts and the evidence adduced during the trial leading to the impugned judgment and the order being passed.

4. The case was registered on the basis of statement (Ex.PW2/A) given by Rahul (PW-2) son of Kanchhid S/o Lekhraj whose homicidal death is the subject matter of the charge for offence under Section 302/34 IPC. The statement Ex.PW2/A was made by PW2-Rahul some time before 9.45 PM on February 24, 2012 before Inspector Ram Dhan Singh (PW-26), the Investigating Officer (IO).

5. The fact that the Kanchhid suffered homicidal death is not in dispute. There is ample evidence available in this regard including the eye-witness account of PW-2 Rahul and the postmortem report (Ex PW-3/A) duly proved by Dr. Vinay Kumar Singh (PW-3) who had conducted the autopsy on dead body on 25-02-2012, noting mainly the following injuries :-

“1. External injury : Incised stab wound, 5x3.5 cms obliquely present over right side of abdomen, 99 cms above heel and 2 cms from midline, upper end acute; margin sharp and regular, cavity deep.

2. Internal injury : About two liter of blood in abdominal cavity. Hepatic vessels incised. All internal organs were pale.”

6. In the opinion of the autopsy report doctor, cause of death was shock consequent upon the stab injury on the abdomen, all injuries were ante mortem in nature and recent in duration, which were sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature, inflicted by single edged sharp cutting instrument. Clothes of the deceased also had corresponding cut marks.

7. On February 24, 2012 at least two other members of the family of the deceased also suffered injuries which were noted in MLCs contemporaneously prepared, they being Sanjay (PW-4) and Sukhbiri (PW-7), the younger brother and wife respectively of the deceased. The MLCs of PW4-Sanjay and PW7-Sukhbiri wer