A single fatal blow in a sudden fight without undue advantage falls under Section 304 Part I.

On 29 December 2013, during a sudden quarrel, the appellant struck Narayanan on the head once with an iron rod.

Narayanan received treatment and died in hospital on 14 January 2014; the post-mortem attributed death to head injuries.

The trial court convicted the appellant under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine. He appealed, contending that the incident fell within Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC and seeking reduction of the offence and sentence.

Whether the appellant’s act fell within Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC, reducing the offence from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Whether the offence was punishable under Section 304 Part I or Part II IPC and, if so, what sentence should be imposed.

Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC applies where culpable homicide is committed without premeditation, in a sudden fight and heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel, and without the offender taking undue advantage or acting cruelly or unusually; it is immaterial which party initiated the provocation or first assault.

Under Section 304 IPC, Part I applies where the act is accompanied by the relevant guilty intention, while Part II applies where there is no such intention but the offender has guilty knowledge.

Relying on Anbazhagan v. State represented by the Inspector of Police, 2023 (10) SCALE 173, the Court noted that a single injury inflicted during a sudden fight may support an inference of guilty knowledge, but the nature of the injury and weapon remain relevant to determining intention and the applicable part of Section 304.

The evidence showed that the appellant struck the deceased once during an altercation arising immediately before the incident. The Court found no premeditation, undue advantage, or cruel or unusual conduct; the appellant left the scene after the blow. It therefore held that Exception 4 applied.

However, because the appellant used an iron rod to inflict a head injury, the Court found the requisite guilty intention and classified the offence under Section 304 Part I, rather than Part II.

In fixing sentence, it also considered that the deceased died after nearly two weeks in hospital and that the prosecution had not produced evidence detailing the treatment or surgery.

The appellant was directed to surrender within ten days, with the period already undergone to be set off under Section 428 Cr.P.C.