The case concerns an appellant, Sudam Prabhakar Achat, who challenged his conviction for murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The core issue revolved around an altercation on a shared agricultural boundary that led to a fatal injury. The appeal questioned whether the offence constituted murder or a lesser crime, ultimately leading to the Supreme Court modifying the conviction to Section 304 Part I IPC, considering the lack of premeditation and the nature of the weapons used.
Penal Code, 1860, Section 302 read with Section 34, Sections 324/34 – Murder – Relative witnesses – Interested witnesses – Appeal against conviction – Appreciation of evidence – Nature of offence – Merely because the witnesses are relatives of the deceased and as such are interested witnesses, that alone cannot be a ground to discard their testimony – The only requirement is that the testimony of such witnesses has to be scrutinized with greater caution and circumspection – From the evidence of the prosecution witnesses itself, it is clear that the place of incident is near the house of accused persons – The possibility of a quarrel taking place on account of previous enmity between the accused persons and the deceased; and in a sudden fight in the heat of the moment, the appellant along with the co-accused assaulting the deceased cannot be ruled out – It can further be seen that the weapons used are a stick and the blunt side of the axe – These tools are easily available in any agricultural field – It therefore cannot be said that there was any premeditation – If their intention was to kill the deceased, there was no reason as to why the co-accused would not have used the sharp side of the axe – The nature of injury and the evidence of the prosecution witnesses would also not show that the appellant had taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel manner – Held that case would not fall under the ambit of Section 302 of IPC and the appellant would be entitled to benefit of Exception IV of Section 300 of IPC – Appellant has already undergone the sentence of 6 years 10 months – The conviction under Section 302 IPC is converted to Part I of Section 304 IPC – The appellant is sentenced to the period already undergone.
(Para 12 to 15)
Sudam Prabhakar Achat V. State Of Maharashtra
Supreme Court: 2025 INSC 378: (DoJ 21-03-2025)
