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Suresh Dattu Bhojane & Anr. vs. The State of Maharashtra

Not available · 2024 INSC 468Decided 8 Jul 2024
Not available
Justice Abhay S. Oka · Justice Pankaj Mithal

Background

A liquor-shop dispute in a Maharashtra village turned deadly when the accused, unhappy that Mama Bhojane had handed over the running of his country liquor shop to the deceased Mohan Mungase and his brother, attacked Mohan Mungase and two others with swords and a scythe at Mama Bhojane's house in 1999. Mohan Mungase died from the assault, and his brother Nandkumar Mungase and a bystander, Maruti Nakate, were injured. The trial court convicted six of eight accused; two appellants (accused nos. 3, 5 and 6) challenged their convictions before the Supreme Court after the Bombay High Court upheld them.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that eyewitness testimony from the injured brother and sister of the deceased clearly and consistently established that all the appellants were present at the scene armed with weapons, even though appellants nos. 5 and 6 had not been assigned a specific overt act. The Court reiterated that under Section 149 IPC, mere membership in an unlawful assembly sharing a common object to commit murder is enough for conviction: active participation in the actual assault is not required. It also rejected the plea for sentence reduction below the mandatory minimum of life imprisonment for murder, though it noted the appellants remain free to separately apply for premature release/remission under State policy. All appeals were dismissed.

Lesson Learnt

Merely being present as part of a mob that shares a common murderous purpose can be enough to convict someone of murder under Section 149 IPC, even without proof that the person personally struck the fatal blow; and courts cannot reduce the mandatory minimum life sentence for murder as a matter of leniency.

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

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