The Supreme Court held that the intention to cause death was essential for conviction for murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
An elderly man was killed and his two grandchildren injured in a fatal assault during a dispute over a place of worship in Madhya Pradesh. The trial court convicted the three accused individuals under Sections 302, 323 and 324 read with Section 34 of the Code, sentencing them to life imprisonment. The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld this decision.
The Supreme Court, acting under Article 136, modified the conviction to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II of the Code as the act was committed with the knowledge that it could cause death but was not done with the intention to kill.
Key Phrases: Murder—culpable homicide not amounting to murder—Section 302 intention—Section 304 knowledge—Indian Penal Code 1860—Article 136
Read the judgement here.
Maukam Singh v State of Madhya Pradesh (2025 INSC 435 | 2025 SCO.LR 4(3))
Case Comment
The medical evidence, that the injury could be caused either manually by a hard and blunt object or by an accidental fall, does not detract from the finding under Section 302, especially considering the ocular testimony;
- of the accused having come with deadly weapons to the house of the victims,
- the altercation and fight that ensued and
- the overt acts of the accused, inflicting injuries on various parts of the body of the deceased and victims,
- totally corroborated by the medical evidence regarding injuries on the deceased and each of the injured witnesses; PWs 1 to 3. The fatal injury caused on the deceased was by a blow to the head; a vital part of the body, with the reverse side of an axe. The intention thus is clear, from the deadly nature of the weapons carried by the accused, who were the aggressors, who trespassed into the house of the victims and wielded such weapons in a manner causing grievous injuries to the victims; one of whom died. The severity of the injury, caused by a blow to the head, definitely resulted in the death; though after a few days, as deposed by the Doctor.