Summary
The Supreme Court converted Atul Thakur’s murder conviction to culpable homicide under Section 304 Part II, applying Exception 4 to Section 300 on the established sudden-fight facts. Knife use and six injuries did not alone exclude the exception where there was no premeditation, undue advantage or cruel conduct as found by the Court. It nevertheless rejected restoration of the trial court’s five-year sentence and imposed ten years’ rigorous imprisonment, Rs. 10,000 fine and one year’s default imprisonment, with statutory set-off.
Issues
- Whether the sudden fight attracted Exception 4 despite multiple knife injuries.
- Whether the original five-year sentence should be restored.
Held
- Eyewitness testimony, knife recovery and medical circumstances established the appellant’s fatal assault. The Court upheld the concurrent involvement finding and confined the remaining dispute to offence classification and sentence. (¶¶ 7, 8, 9)
- Friends quarrelled suddenly during a drinking gathering after the deceased blew smoke towards the appellant. The Court found absence of premeditation and intention to kill, heat of passion and no undue advantage or cruel manner; the appellant’s immediate assistance and conduct were also considered. On the full circumstances Exception 4 applied. Knife use and multiple wounds were not by themselves decisive against it. (¶¶ 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
- The proper conviction was Section 304 Part II, but the trivial trigger, weapon and repeated blows warranted substantial punishment. The trial court had supplied no special reason for five years; the Court fixed ten years’ rigorous imprisonment with Rs. 10,000 fine, one year’s default imprisonment and Section 428 set-off. (¶¶ 15, 16, 17)
Result
Appeals partly allowed. Section 302 conviction replaced by Section 304 Part II; ten years’ rigorous imprisonment, Rs. 10,000 fine and one year’s default imprisonment imposed, with statutory set-off.