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Vijay Singh and Another v. State of Madhya Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 444 of 2008)Decided 25 Mar 2014
Criminal Appeal No. 444 of 2008
Justice C.K. Prasad · Justice J.S. Khehar

Background

Vijay Singh and Hari Singh were among eleven people accused of attacking Bhagirath, who died from multiple injuries. Nine accused were acquitted, while these two were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. They disputed the High Court's findings attributing the fatal injuries to them.

Decision Breakdown

The Court found that the High Court had misread both the eyewitness and medical evidence. The evidence established one injury from each appellant, but did not establish that those injuries caused the death, which resulted from bleeding and shock from the overall injuries. On the evidence in this case, murder was not proved against them either individually or through common intention. The Court instead convicted each of grievous hurt with dangerous weapons under Section 326, imposing ten years' rigorous imprisonment and a ₹5,000 fine, with six months' imprisonment in default. It ordered release if they had already served the required term and were not wanted in another case.

Lesson Learnt

Courts must connect the proved acts of particular accused people with the offence charged, especially when several people allegedly caused different injuries. Failure to prove murder can still leave a serious conviction and punishment for the dangerous injuries actually established.

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

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