In Brief
A man was killed in a road-rage incident. Two men were accused of culpable homicide. The High Court reversed the trial court's acquittal and convicted both. The Supreme Court set aside both convictions. Though the first accused punched the victim, medical evidence (post-mortem and forensic reports) did not clearly establish that the injuries caused death—the pathologist found cardiac abnormalities and no brain pathology. The subdural hemorrhage had no specified magnitude or evidence of fatal compression. The second accused's identity as the assailant was based only on eyewitness statements years after the incident, without identification parade or corroboration. The Court held the first accused guilty only of voluntarily causing hurt (Section 323 IPC) and imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000. The second accused's conviction was entirely set aside.
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