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Raj Singh @ Raja v. State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 1475 of 2015)Decided 20 Nov 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 1475 of 2015
Justice Dipak Misra · Justice Prafulla C. Pant

Background

A quarrel at a village bus stop tea shop in 1998 escalated when a group, some armed with lathis and one with a gun, attacked the shop owner's family. One of the group fired a shot that killed a man, and several others were injured. The appellant was convicted by the trial court and his conviction was upheld by the High Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court applied its earlier decision in the appeal of a co-accused (Daya Kishan, decided on 22 April 2010), because the appellant's role was identical. It held that the other members of the group did not share a common object to commit murder, since the fatal shot was fired by a different person. The murder conviction under Section 302 read with Section 149 was therefore set aside and the appellant was acquitted of that charge. His convictions under Section 148 (rioting), and under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 323 (causing hurt), each read with Section 149, were affirmed, and the appeal was partly allowed on that basis.

Lesson Learnt

Being part of a group that attacks someone does not automatically make you liable for a killing done by one member; courts check whether the group shared the purpose of killing. A person can still be convicted for his own part in the violence, such as rioting or causing hurt.

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

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