In Brief
Nandlal and his cousin Dilip had disputes over sharing expenses for a common wall between their adjacent houses. On 16 May 2006, a quarrel erupted involving abuse; when Nandlal attacked Dilip's brother Lakhichand with a stick, Lakhichand's brother Gopichand struck Nandlal on the head with a stick. Nandlal then immediately went to his house, returned with a gupti (a sharp weapon), and inflicted a single fatal blow on Lakhichand's left armpit. The trial court and High Court convicted Nandlal under Section 302 IPC (murder) with life imprisonment. The Supreme Court held that the incident was a continuous transaction in sudden quarrel and heat of passion, without premeditation or undue advantage, falling within Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC. The conviction was modified to Section 304 Part II IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) with 12 years imprisonment.
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