Repeated stabbing involving undue advantage and cruelty excludes Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC.

The appellant and deceased lived in the same rented portion of a house.

The prosecution case was that, in the early hours of 10 March 2017, the appellant repeatedly stabbed the deceased following a dispute concerning a missing gold chain.

Tenants in the adjoining portion testified that they witnessed the stabbing, and the house owner testified that the appellant admitted stabbing the deceased and left the knife at the scene.

The medical evidence recorded multiple stab wounds and attributed death to haemorrhage and shock

The trial court convicted the appellant under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine; he appealed against that decision

1. Whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant committed the murder of the deceased, warranting conviction under Section 302 IPC

2. Whether the alleged sudden quarrel brought the case within Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC

The Court applied Section 302 IPC, under which a person who commits murder is liable to the prescribed punishment, and considered Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC, which may exclude an act from murder where its requirements are met, including that the offender did not act cruelly or take undue advantage

The Court also applied the evidentiary principle that reliable, consistent eyewitness testimony may establish guilt notwithstanding a rejected recovery or the absence of motive; it cited no precedent

The Court found the accounts of P.Ws. 1–5 consistent: P.Ws. 2, 3 and 5 testified to seeing the appellant stab the deceased, while P.W. 1 described the appellant’s admission and the immediate aftermath. The medical evidence corroborated the testimony by documenting numerous stab injuries.

The Court rejected the alleged recovery of the knife because the evidence showed that it had been left at the scene, but held that this did not undermine the eyewitness accounts.

It accepted the explanation for the delay in forwarding the material objects and found that the delay did not displace the direct and medical evidence.

Exception 4 did not apply because the repeated infliction of multiple stab wounds demonstrated cruel conduct and the taking of undue advantage.

It dismissed the appeal and confirmed the conviction under Section 302 IPC and the sentence of life imprisonment and fine imposed by the trial court