Conviction for Triple Homicide Is Converted to Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder; Accused Ordered Released If Not Required in Other Cases

A bench of Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran heard an appeal against the Allahabad High Court’s dismissal of criminal appeal challenging convictions in a 1986 triple homicide. The Court considered whether the accused were rightly convicted under Section 302 IPC or whether the facts warranted conviction for a lesser offence.

The Supreme Court partly allowed the appeal and converted the convictions from murder (Section 302 IPC) to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part I IPC), holding that there was no material to show specific intent to kill though the accused had knowledge that the injuries could cause death. The Court noted that the prosecution case rested principally on the testimony of PW‑1, a related witness, and on medical evidence showing lacerated and contused wounds rather than incised injuries. The Court observed that some accused “were carrying sticks whereas the other accused persons Prem Shankar and Late Ram Naresh who were carrying the sharp weapons, had only used the blunt side of the weapons.” The Court, in its reasoning, observed: “We, therefore, find that in the facts of the present case, the conviction under Section 302 IPC would not be tenable and is liable to be converted to one under Section 304 Part 1 of IPC. We are, therefore, inclined to partly allow the appeal.” The Court further held that, having regard to the period already undergone in custody, “the sentence already undergone by them would subserve the interest of justice” and directed that the accused be released forthwith if they were not required in any other case.

Background The prosecution said that on the morning of 6 August 1986, a party including complainant Ram Gopal (PW‑1) and three relatives went to measure agricultural fields at Baruahaar Ghat and encountered four accused who emerged from hiding. An altercation over field measurements escalated and the accused allegedly assaulted the party with pikes, sticks and a spear. Two injured victims died at the local hospital and the third died while being shifted to Allahabad, after post‑mortem reports recorded ante‑mortem injuries and fractures. An FIR was registered initially under Sections 307 and 308 read with Section 34 IPC and later amended to include Section 302 IPC when deaths occurred. The accused were arrested, tried by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Karvi (Banda), convicted on 8 November 1989 under Section 302 read with Section 34 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine; the Allahabad High Court dismissed the criminal appeal on 4 July 2013.

On appeal to the Supreme Court, counsel for the appellants argued that the case rested solely on PW‑1, a related witness, and that the evidence did not establish the requisite intention to kill. Senior counsel for the State maintained that the murders were brutal and that medical evidence supported the prosecution. The Supreme Court examined the testimonial and medical evidence, observed that injuries were lacerated and contused and that some accused employed only the blunt side of weapons, and concluded that though the accused had knowledge that injuries could cause death, there was insufficient proof of an intention to kill. Relying on concurrent findings of fact that the accused caused the deaths but applying the correct legal standard for mens rea, the Court converted the convictions to Section 304 Part I IPC, partially allowed the appeal and ordered the release of the accused subject to their being not wanted in other matters. Pending applications were disposed of.

Case Details: Case No.: CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 596 OF 2014 (2025 INSC 1172) Case Title: Raghav Prashad and Others v. State of U.P. Appearances: For the Petitioner(s): Shri Raj Kumar Yadav, learned counsel For the Respondent(s): Shri Akshay Amritanshu, learned counsel