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Khokan @ Khokhan Vishwas v. State of Chhattisgarh

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 79Decided 11 Feb 2021
Criminal Appeal No. 121 of 2021
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice M.R. Shah

Background

The appellant quarrelled with the deceased over money on 08.08.2006, pushed him down and stood on his abdomen, causing internal injuries. The deceased was taken to hospital only the next day and died on 11.08.2006 from septicemia caused by the internal injury. The trial court convicted the appellant of murder (Section 302 IPC) and sentenced him to life imprisonment, and the Chhattisgarh High Court confirmed this. The Supreme Court had earlier issued limited notice confined to whether the conviction should instead be Section 304-I IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the incident arose from a sudden quarrel without premeditation, the accused did not carry any weapon, and there was no evidence of intent to cause an injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. This brought the case within "Exception 4" to Section 300 IPC (sudden fight in the heat of passion), meaning it could not be treated as murder under Section 302. The Court distinguished a precedent relied on by the accused (where death occurred 62 days later) since here death followed within three days, but still found the offence to be culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The conviction was altered from Section 302 IPC to Section 304-I IPC, and since the appellant had already served 14.5 years, more than the sentence typically warranted, he was ordered released forthwith.

Lesson Learnt

A killing arising from a sudden, unplanned quarrel without any weapon or clear intent to kill may legally amount to a lesser offence (culpable homicide, not murder), even if the victim ultimately dies: intent and premeditation, not just the outcome, determine the severity of the charge.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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