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Vikrant @ Ashu vs. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi

Criminal Appeal · 2026:DHC:8142Decided 23 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
CRL.A. 980/2025CNR: DLHC010444452025
Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha

Background

On 9 April 2021, the appellant, Vikrant, was walking through a street in Shahbad Dairy, Delhi using abusive language. When the injured (PW3) objected because women and families lived in the area, an altercation followed. Vikrant left, returned shortly with a knife, and stabbed PW3 multiple times causing grievous injuries to his chest, abdomen and arm. A trial court convicted him under Section 307 IPC (attempt to murder) and sentenced him to 7 years' rigorous imprisonment; he appealed the conviction, arguing the attack was a sudden, unpremeditated reaction rather than an attempt to kill.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court held that the accused's act of leaving the scene, procuring a knife, and returning to attack was proof of an intervening period that negated any claim of a sudden, spur-of-the-moment reaction. The nature of the injuries (targeting the chest and abdomen, described by doctors as "dangerous") and the repeated stabbing supported the intention required for Section 307 IPC. The Court rejected a defence theory that the victim had a personal grudge against the accused's family, since this was never put to the prosecution witnesses during cross-examination. The conviction was upheld, but the sentence was reduced from 7 years to 6 years' rigorous imprisonment considering the overall circumstances.

Lesson Learnt

Leaving the scene of a quarrel to fetch a weapon and returning to attack is treated by courts as evidence of premeditation, not a spontaneous reaction: this can be the difference between a lesser assault charge and a conviction for attempted murder.

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