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Vinod Kumar v. Amritpal @ Chhotu & Ors.

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 802Decided 30 Nov 2021
Criminal Appeal No. 1519 of 2021
Justice Ajay Rastogi · Justice Abhay S. Oka

Background

The appellant's brother, Balveer Singh, was abducted along with an injured eyewitness by five accused, who assaulted him, left him to die, smashed his face with bricks to prevent identification, and threw his body into a canal. The trial court convicted the accused of murder under Section 302/149 IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment, but the Rajasthan High Court reduced the conviction to the lesser offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part II IPC), reasoning that the injuries were not on vital body parts and that the accused had shown no intent to kill since they had taken the victim to a doctor. The informant (victim's brother) appealed to the Supreme Court against this reduction.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the High Court had erred by ignoring medical evidence showing the fatal injuries were indeed on vital parts: a ruptured lung, damaged liver, and fractured ribs causing fatal internal bleeding. Applying the Court's long-standing test from Virsa Singh v. State of Punjab for "thirdly" under Section 300 IPC, the Court found that once an intentional bodily injury is proved to be sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, it is murder regardless of whether the accused actually intended death. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment, restored the trial court's conviction and life sentence under Section 302/149 IPC, and directed the accused to surrender within six weeks.

Lesson Learnt

Taking an injured victim to a doctor afterward does not by itself negate an intention to kill; courts assess murder based on whether the inflicted injury was objectively sufficient to cause death, not merely on the accused's claimed state of mind.

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

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