HC reduces murder conviction to culpable homicide in Diwali rooftop death case

Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court has modified the conviction of two men in connection with the death of another after an altercation on the deceased’s rooftop in Sitarganj of Udham Singh Nagar district on the night of Diwali on Nov 11, 2015, holding that the incident resulted from a sudden quarrel and did not conclusively show an intent to murder.A division bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Siddharth Sah on Thursday altered the conviction of Sudarshan Gupta and Vijay Kumar from IPC section 302/34 for murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under IPC section 304 and sentenced both appellants to seven years of rigorous imprisonment. The court observed that “while it could have been foreseen that the act might lead to a fatal outcome, it could not be conclusively stated that the intention was to cause death”.The appeal challenged the Aug 7, 2023 judgment of the special sessions judge in Udham Singh Nagar, in a 2016 trial, which had awarded them life imprisonment for the murder of Janardan Prasad under IPC section 302/34 along with sentences under sections 323/34 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 452 (house trespass) – all to run concurrently.The case originated from an FIR lodged at Sitarganj police station at 1.10am on Nov 12, 2015 by resident Chandan Kumar, who alleged that an argument had erupted earlier around 9pm after his father, Janardan, objected to neighbours bursting crackers on a rooftop. The accused appellants arrived at their residence with a sharp edged kapa, iron rod and sticks, and allegedly assaulted the complainant and his father. Janardan was taken to hospital, where he was declared dead.Medical evidence indicated a single head injury on the deceased, a lacerated wound measuring 12 cm x 3 cm extending from the parietal to occipital region, with fractures and the cause of death as antemortem head injury leading to shock and coma. Postmortem revealed only one injury, while Chandan and Umesh Kumar – both injured eyewitnesses – were examined and found to have simple injuries caused by hard and blunt objects.HC held that eyewitness testimonies were corroborated by medical evidence, establishing the fatal blow by Sudarshan Gupta and injuries attributed to Vijay Kumar. However, on the legal classification of the homicide, the bench found that the incident arose from a sudden fight, and though knowledge of fatal consequence could be attributed, intention to cause death could not be conclusively inferred. The court applied exception 4 to IPC section 300, noting no material indicating cruel or unusual conduct, or undue advantage.Accordingly, convictions under IPC sections 452 and 323/34 were upheld, while IPC section 302/34 was altered to section 304 for Sudarshan Gupta and section 304/34 IPC for Vijay Kumar, with seven years’ rigorous imprisonment each. The court recorded that the appellants had undergone about four years of incarceration and directed them to serve the remaining sentence in accordance with law.