The Supreme Court has changed a conviction from Section 302 of the IPC to Section 304, stating that the chance of committing an offense in a moment of passion cannot be ignored.

The Supreme Court changed the conviction of a person from Section 302 to Part I of Section 304 IPC. The Court noted that the Appellants might have acted without planning during a sudden fight caused by a heated argument. This decision came while reviewing a Criminal Appeal against a High Court ruling that had dismissed the Appellants’ appeal and confirmed the conviction and sentence given by the Additional Sessions Judge. Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Vishwanathan stated that the Appellants deserved the benefit of the doubt, leading to the change in conviction.

In this case, a shopkeeper informed the police that he saw four people attack the victim with weapons like lathis, a rod, and an axe, after threatening him over a long-standing land dispute. The victim had previously shown a local magistrate’s order regarding the land to a village official. During the fight, the victim’s mother also got hurt. The victim later died from head injuries, as confirmed by a post-mortem report. After the investigation, the Appellants were charged and found guilty under IPC Sections 302 and 307 by the trial Court, and their life sentences were confirmed by the High Court. This led to the current Appeal.

The Court stated that, based on the reliable testimony, it sees no reason to challenge the decisions made by both the trial Court and the High Court, which concluded that the deceased died due to injuries inflicted by the Appellants. The Court noted that the weapons used, such as axes and sticks, are typical tools for farmers. It remarked that “the chance of the Appellants committing the offense in a spontaneous fight during a heated argument cannot be dismissed.” Therefore, the Court granted the Appeal.

Cause Title: Devendra Kumar v. State of Chhattisgarh (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 841)