In Brief
A truck driver pushed a Sub-Inspector off his moving vehicle when the officer tried to board it, and the officer was subsequently run over and died. The trial court and high court convicted the driver for murder under Section 302 IPC. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and reduced the conviction to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part I), finding the driver lacked the intention to kill. The incident resulted from a disproportionate reaction in the heat of passion, without prior enmity, premeditation, or proof that the driver knew the officer had fallen into the path of the truck's wheels. The sentence was reduced from life imprisonment to 10 years.
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