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The State of Madhya Pradesh v. Gangabishan @ Vishnu

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 644Decided 27 Jul 2018
Criminal Appeal No. 2393 of 2009
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre · Justice S. Abdul Nazeer

Background

A dispute over cattle entering a field and damaging crops escalated into a violent confrontation in which nine accused persons, armed with lathis, swords and a gun, attacked the complainant (PW-1) and his brother Rajesh, who died from a gunshot wound. The trial court convicted all nine accused of murder and related offences. On appeal, the High Court acquitted eight of the nine accused for lack of corroborated evidence linking them individually to the injuries, but held the gun-wielding accused (Respondent No. 1) guilty of the lesser offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 (Part I) IPC, sentencing him to ten years' imprisonment. The State of Madhya Pradesh appealed to the Supreme Court against both the acquittals and the reduced charge.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the medical evidence closely and found that the sole eyewitness's account of being attacked by all nine accused with different weapons was not corroborated by the medical evidence, which showed he had sustained injuries only from a blunt object, not from any sharp weapon or firearm, undermining the case against the eight acquitted accused. On the gunshot death, the Court noted that the entry wound was on the back of the deceased's thigh with blackening indicating a close-range shot, and reasoned that if the shooter had truly intended to kill, he would likely have aimed at the upper body rather than the thigh, supporting the High Court's finding of an intent to cause bodily harm likely to cause death, rather than an intent to murder. Finding no infirmity in the High Court's reasoning on either point, the Supreme Court dismissed the State's appeal and upheld the High Court's judgment in full.

Lesson Learnt

In criminal trials, a conviction requires that eyewitness testimony be corroborated by medical evidence; where a witness's account of an attack by multiple assailants with different weapons does not match the actual pattern of injuries found, courts will not sustain convictions based on that uncorroborated testimony. Courts also scrutinize the nature and location of a gunshot wound to distinguish an intent to kill from an intent merely to cause serious injury, which affects whether a case is murder or the lesser offence of culpable homicide.

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

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