In Brief
Three men were convicted of murder and imprisoned for life following a fatal attack on a neighbor, arising from a disputed land ownership. The Supreme Court reduced their conviction from murder (Section 302 IPC) to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part II IPC). The Court held that while a spade blow to the head caused fatal brain hemorrhage, the evidence demonstrated a sudden unpremeditated fight sparked by verbal abuse, not a deliberate plan to kill. The single scalp injury without skull fracture, despite multiple armed assailants being present, indicated knowledge that the weapon might cause death but absence of intention to kill. Since the appellants had served over 11.5 years imprisonment (exceeding the 10-year sentence imposed), they were ordered released.
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