By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Tuesday acquitted three accused of murder charges in a case, in which a person had died after being assaulted following a verbal altercation over overtaking of vehicle, saying there was no pre-mediation of mind to commit murder.
However, the apex court convicted them for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 Part-II of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and awarded a sentence for the period already undergone by them in the case.
A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath observed that the three appellants have undergone several years of incarceration and they be released forthwith unless required in any other case.
The top court delivered its verdict on three appeals filed by the convicts against the May 2019 judgement of the Kerala High Court which had confirmed their conviction under several sections of the IPC, including that of murder, in case.
“Thus, for all the reasons stated above, we are of the view that the appellants would be entitled for acquittal under section 302 (murder) IPC but would be liable to be convicted under section 304 Part-II IPC,” the bench said.
The apex court observed that the case falls into the category of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 Part-II of the IPC for reasons, including that, “There was no pre-meditation of mind to commit murder.”
According to the prosecution, in the last week of January 2008, festivals were going on in the Church located at Thidanadu and Variyanikkadu in Kerala.
It was claimed that when the victim, along with his friends, were going to a church at about 9 PM, two motorbikes were moving in front of their car and blocked their way.
The prosecution said that a verbal altercation took place regarding the motorbikes not giving way to the four-wheeler and after some time when the victim and their friends were returning, 10 accused allegedly formed an unlawful assembly and attacked them.
One of the person died in the incident and after an investigation, the police filed the charge sheet in the case.
The trial court had acquitted four accused while the other six were convicted.
The six persons then approached the high court, which acquitted three of them of all charges and partly allowed the appeals filed by the other three by setting aside their conviction for the alleged offences punishable under some sections of the IPC.
The high court had confirmed the conviction and sentence awarded to the three accused by the trial court for several offences, including that of murder.
The apex court observed that the question which requires consideration is whether it was a culpable homicide amounting to murder punishable under section 302 of the IPC, as has been held by the courts below, or whether it was a culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
It said considering the statutory provisions laid down in the IPC and the law on the point, the case falls into the category of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 Part-II of the IPC for the reasons, including that all the accused were admittedly not armed when they had stopped the vehicle of the victim and his friends and compelled them to alight from the same.
“The case set up for exhortation to kill the deceased has not been found to be proved,” the bench observed while maintaining the conviction upheld by the high court for offences punishable under various sections of the IPC.
