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Supreme Court of India 2020-01-21 dismissed

PAUL vs STATE OF KERALA

Bench: 2 — Sanjay Kishan Kaul, K.M. Joseph

In Brief

The appellant was convicted of murdering his wife by throttling under Section 302 IPC after the High Court affirmed the trial court's judgment. The appellant challenged the conviction, seeking reduction to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 IPC. The Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the medical evidence (contusion on forehead, abrasion on face, and critical neck injuries with thyroid cartilage fracture) conclusively proved death by throttling with intent to kill. The Court rejected the appellant's false plea of suicide and found that no exceptions under Section 300 IPC applied. The act clearly constituted murder, and the appellant could not escape liability by invoking Section 304, which applies only when culpable homicide does not amount to murder.

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Criminal Law Evidence Homicide and Murder Exceptions to Murder Intoxication and Mens Rea Circumstantial Evidence Medical Evidence Death by Throttling Dowry Harassment Conjugal Violence

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