In Brief
Khuman Singh killed Veer Singh (a member of the Scheduled Caste) with an axe following a dispute over grazing buffaloes in a field. The lower courts convicted him under Section 302 IPC (murder) and Section 3(2)(v) of the Atrocities Act. The Supreme Court held that the atrocities charge could not stand because the killing did not occur solely on the ground of the victim's caste—it arose from a trivial dispute. The conviction was modified from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II IPC (Exception 4, Section 300), as the killing occurred in a sudden fight without premeditation. The appellant, having served over thirteen years, was released."
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