Supreme Court Converts Murder Conviction to Culpable Homicide in Single Blow Case

In Kariman v. State of Chhattisgarh (2024 Latest Caselaw 263 SC), the Supreme Court converted the appellant's conviction from murder under Section 302 IPC to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II IPC. The Court held that the incident arose out of a sudden quarrel, the accused inflicted only a single stone blow, and the prosecution failed to establish the intention necessary to sustain a conviction for murder. 

The appellant and the deceased, who was living with him as his second wife under customary practice, were involved in an altercation. During the incident, the appellant chased the deceased and, after she fell to the ground, struck her once with a stone lying nearby. The deceased suffered a fractured rib, resulting in laceration of the spleen and internal bleeding, which caused her death. The Trial Court convicted the appellant under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The High Court affirmed the conviction, following which the appellant approached the Supreme Court. 

The principal issue was whether the appellant's act amounted to murder punishable under Section 302 IPC or culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II IPC. 

The Supreme Court held that the ingredients of murder under Section 300 IPC were not established. The Court observed that:

•The prosecution failed to establish any motive on the part of the appellant to kill the deceased. 

•The evidence indicated that the incident arose from a sudden quarrel. 

•The appellant was unarmed while chasing the deceased and picked up a stone only after she had fallen. 

•Only a single injury was inflicted on the deceased. 

•The medical evidence did not state that the injury was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. 

•At best, the appellant could be attributed with the knowledge that his act was likely to cause death, but not the intention to cause death or such bodily injury as was likely to cause death. Accordingly, the Court held that the case fell within Section 304 Part II IPC rather than Section 302 IPC. 

The Supreme Court:

•Partly allowed the appeal. 

•Altered the conviction from Section 302 IPC to Section 304 Part II IPC. 

•Sentenced the appellant to seven years' rigorous imprisonment. 

•Declined to impose any fine, considering that the appellant had already undergone approximately seventeen years of imprisonment. 

•Directed his immediate release, if not required in any other case. 

The judgment reiterates the distinction between murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. It emphasises that where death results from a single blow inflicted during a sudden quarrel, without premeditation or intention to cause death, the offence may fall under Section 304 Part II IPC if only the knowledge of the likely consequences can be attributed to the accused. The decision also highlights the importance of medical evidence in determining the appropriate nature of the offence.