In Brief
Two brothers were convicted of murdering Harbhajan Singh after an axe attack during a village gathering to settle a land dispute. The Supreme Court partially allowed their appeal, finding that while the attack occurred in a sudden quarrel with mutual provocation and both parties sustained injuries, Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC applied. The conviction was reduced from murder (Section 302) to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part-I), and the sentence was reduced from life imprisonment to seven years. The Court found the prosecution failed to adequately explain injuries sustained by the accused and that the victim's one-month survival indicated the accused did not take undue advantage."
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