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P. V. BALAKRISHNAN
Syamkumar @ Saji Viswamithran – Appellant
Versus
State of Kerala – Respondent
J U D G M E N T
Raja Vijayaraghavan, J.
This appeal is preferred by the sole accused in S.C.No. 604 of 2012 on the file of the Additional Sessions Judge-II, Pathanamthitta, challenging the finding of guilt, conviction, and sentence passed by the learned Sessions Judge.
2. The appellant, a man aged 24 years of age, was charged for having committed offence punishable under Sections 302, and 447 of the IPC. By the impugned judgment dated 20.06.2018, he was found guilty under Section 302 of the IPC and was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 1 lakh with a default clause.
The Prosecution Case
3. The deceased, Shibumon, was the son of one Sivaraman (PW8) and the elder brother of Shiju (PW7). The accused, Syamkumar @ Saji, is the maternal cousin of the deceased, being the son of the deceased's mother's sister. Sivaraman and PW3 had built a shed on a piece of property, where they were carrying out agricultural activities. On 07.04.2012, Suneesh (PW1) and the deceased were sitting in the shop of one Kalathil Sunil. The prosecution alleges that the accused called the deceased on his phone and invited him to the agric
The court modified the conviction from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, emphasizing the lack of premeditation and the nature of the altercation.
The court affirmed that the 1st accused's act of stabbing the deceased constituted murder, rejecting the applicability of Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC due to the absence of mutual combat.
The Court upheld the life imprisonment conviction under Section 302 IPC, affirming the case as murder due to the absence of sudden provocation and corroborative evidence supporting the eyewitness's t....
The court determined that killing during a sudden quarrel, spurred by provocation, constitutes culpable homicide rather than murder, warranting a conviction under lesser charges.
The credibility of eyewitnesses, even if related to the victim, does not diminish their account's reliability if corroborated by medical evidence.
Sudden quarrel without premeditation, single stab in heat of passion without undue advantage or cruelty attracts Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC; offence reduced from Section 302 murder to Section 304....
Criminal Law - Murder/ Culpable homicide not amounting to murder. – Conviction modified - In order to avail the benefit of Exception IV of Section 300 of IPC, defence is only required to probabilise ....
The distinction between murder and culpable homicide hinges on intention and circumstances, with the court applying Exception-4 of Section 300 IPC in cases of sudden quarrel.
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