In Brief
A murder case arose from a family land dispute that escalated into violence, resulting in the death of Mahendro Bai. All eleven accused were initially convicted under Sections 148, 302/149, 323/149 and 506/149 IPC. The High Court acquitted eight accused but upheld the conviction of three (Appellants 2 and 3 herein) under Section 302/34 IPC instead. The Supreme Court held that although an appellate court can alter charges from Section 149 to Section 34 IPC where no prejudice results, such alteration requires clear evidence of common intention. Finding no such evidence and noting that the fatal injuries were caused by acquitted accused, the Court converted the appellants' conviction to Section 324 IPC (causing hurt) and sentenced them to time already served plus Rs. 10,000 fine each.
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