In an incident that started over a fight between children over "mangoes" and, unfortunately, flared up when adults of the families got involved, leading to the death of one, the Supreme Court has modified the conviction of three men charged with murder to culpable homicide, not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part-I of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The Bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted, "As it has come from the deposition of all the eye witnesses, this is not a case of pre-planned murder. The incident started with a fight between children for “mangoes” which unfortunately flared up when the adults of the families also got involved which ultimately led to the deceased-Vishwanath Singh, (the father of one of the children), being killed."

The Appellants had originally been convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gonda, and sentenced to life imprisonment for offences under Sections 302, 147, 149, and 323 of the IPC in connection with the death of Vishwanath Singh in 1984. The Allahabad High Court had upheld their convictions, thereafter, the appellants moved the current Appeal.

The case revolves around an incident that occurred on April 19, 1984, when a fight between children from two families escalated, leading to an attack on Vishwanath Singh by the accused. Armed with lathis, the five accused—Ayodhya Singh, Man Bahadur Singh, Lal Ji Singh, Bharat Singh, and Bhanu Pratap Singh—assaulted Vishwanath Singh, who later succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Gonda. Two of the accused, Ayodhya Singh and Lal Ji Singh, passed away during the pendency of the Appeal before the High Court, leaving the three remaining Appellants to continue their legal battle.

The Court reviewed the evidence, including eyewitness testimonies and the postmortem report, which detailed five antemortem injuries, two of which—lacerations on the head—proved fatal. The Court noted that the fight was sudden, arising from a quarrel between children over mangoes, and that the incident was not premeditated.

"Considering the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature of the injuries (as according to the postmortem report itself, only injury Nos.1 and 2 on the skull causing the death of the deceased-Vishwanath Singh) and also considering the nature of the weapon used which is a lathi, we are inclined to accept the argument that it is indeed a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and it is not murder," the Court said in its July 24 order.

In light of above findings, the Court reduced the appellants' sentence from life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC to seven years rigorous imprisonment under Section 304 Part-I IPC. Additionally, the Court imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 on each appellant, to be paid within eight weeks, with the amount directed to be given to the victim's family. The District Magistrate of Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, has been tasked with ensuring compliance with this order.

"Therefore, we convert the findings of Section 302 of the IPC to that of Section 304 Part-I of IPC, and thereby convert the sentence of life imprisonment of all the appellants before us to that of seven years rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 25,000/- to be given by each appellant which shall be deposited by them within a period of eight weeks from today, if not already deposited. The amount so deposited shall be given to the victim’s family, for which we fix the responsibility of District Magistrate Gonda, U.P. The Registry of this Court is also directed to communicate this order to the above officer for compliance," the Court ordered. Accordingly, the Appeal was disposed of.

Cause Title: Man Bahadur Singh & Ors. v. State of Uttar Pradesh [Criminal Appeal No(s) 2209/2024]

Appearance:-

Appellant: Advocate Jagjit Singh Chhabra, AOR Saksham Maheshwari

Respondent: AOR Namit Saxena

Click here to read/download the Order



Justice Sudhanshu DhuliaJustice Ahsanuddin Amaah

Sukriti Mishra