Repeated assault amid prior enmity supported a murder conviction, not culpable homicide.

The appellants, Chokro Pradhan and his wife Somwari Pradhan, were accused of assaulting Mani Pradhan, the mother of appellant Chokro, during a dispute concerning the family home. The prosecution alleged that the appellants assaulted her and that her body was found in a field the following morning

The post-mortem recorded multiple rib fractures, a lacerated right lung and a lacerated spleen; death was attributed to severe chest and abdominal injuries, haemorrhage and shock

The Sessions Court convicted both appellants under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment and a fine. They appealed, arguing, among other things, that the evidence did not establish murder and that the offence should be reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder

Whether the eyewitness evidence and other material on record established the appellants’ guilt for murder under Sections 302/34 IPC

Whether the circumstances and nature of the assault warranted reducing the offence to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 IPC

The Court applied Section 302 IPC, which provides for punishment for murder, together with Section 34 IPC, under which persons acting with a common intention may be held jointly liable for acts done in furtherance of that intention.

In considering the appellants’ request for a lesser offence, the Court assessed whether the nature and circumstances of the assault supported their contention that the case fell under Section 304 IPC. The judgment cited no precedents

The Court accepted the evidence of P.W.1 and P.W.3 that both appellants assaulted the deceased, finding their accounts natural, consistent and unexaggerated; it also noted that their flight was explained by fear of being attacked themselves

The differing explanations of motive did not undermine the eyewitness evidence. The Court considered the injuries, the evidence of an ongoing hostility, and the concerted, repeated assault, and concluded that the death was not the result of a single, isolated blow or a one-off quarrel. It therefore rejected the argument for reducing the offence to Section 304 IPC and found the conviction under Sections 302/34 IPC justified

It dismissed the appeal, leaving the life sentences and fines undisturbed, and closed any pending interlocutory applications