In Brief
The appellant was convicted of murdering Poshakka, who was living as his wife. The prosecution alleged he beat her throughout the night of 23–24 August 2001, causing her death the next day. The appellant argued the death resulted from strangulation, not the beating. The Supreme Court upheld that the cumulative effect of the injuries caused death, but found the evidence did not establish an intention to kill: the deceased reported the beating the next morning and survived for hours afterwards. The Court therefore reduced the conviction from murder (Section 302) to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part-II) and released the appellant, having served sixteen years in custody."
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