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Ram Manohar Singh vs The State of Uttar Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 781Decided 24 Aug 2023
Criminal Appeal No. 760 of 2022
Abhay S. Oka · Pankaj Mithal

Background

A dispute over plucking mangoes escalated between two families over two days. On the day of the killing, the appellant and another accused, armed with licensed guns, went to the complainant's house and fired shots through a window during an altercation, killing the deceased and injuring two others. Both the Trial Court and the High Court had convicted the appellant of murder based on eyewitness testimony, and he appealed to the Supreme Court arguing the killing should be treated as a lesser offence (culpable homicide) since it occurred in the heat of a sudden fight.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the eyewitness accounts were consistent and credible, and that the absence of gun recovery did not weaken the prosecution's case once the eyewitnesses were believed. On the claim that the killing fell under the "sudden fight" exception to murder, the Court found this did not apply because the appellant deliberately carried his loaded gun to the deceased's house after two earlier altercations that day and the day before, showing premeditation rather than a sudden, unplanned quarrel. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction and life sentence were upheld, with one month granted for the appellant to surrender.

Lesson Learnt

The "sudden fight without premeditation" exception to a murder charge does not apply where the accused arms himself and goes to the scene knowing of prior altercations, carrying a weapon to a confrontation undercuts any claim that the killing was spontaneous and unplanned.

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

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