In Brief
The State of Uttar Pradesh appealed against a High Court judgment that had reduced the respondent's conviction from murder (Section 302 IPC) to culpable homicide (Section 304 Part I IPC), with a corresponding reduction in sentence from life imprisonment to 10 years. The respondent had shot and killed the deceased during a village panchayat, claiming he acted under grave and sudden provocation. The Supreme Court held that mere suspicion, without any overt act by the deceased, does not constitute grave and sudden provocation. Since the respondent's provocation was self-initiated and based on pre-existing animosity, the exception to murder was inapplicable. The Court restored the trial court's conviction for murder and directed the respondent to surrender to serve the remaining sentence.
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