Case – Kapur Singh v. State of PEPSU, 1956
Facts
About a year before the date of the occurrence, Bachan Singh s /o the deceased caused a severe injury on the leg of Pritam Singh s/o Kapur Singh resulting in the amputation of his leg. Kapur Singh f/o Pritam Singh with the help of Chand Singh took revenge on September 30, 1952. Chand Singh gripped the father of Bachan Singh by the head and Kapur Singh inflicted as many as 18 injuries on the arms and legs of the deceased with a gandasa. It is significant that out of all the injuries which were inflicted none was inflicted on a vital part of the body.
Issue
Whether Kapur Singh caused Murder or Culpable Homicide?
Contentions and Judgement
- Kapur Singh had no intention to cause death. The fact that no injury was inflicted on any vital part of the body of the deceased goes to show in the circumstances of this case that the intention of the appellant was not to kill the deceased outright.
- But by such bodily injury it was likely to cause death. He inflicted the injuries not with the intention of causing death of the deceased but caused such bodily injuries as, he must have known, would likely cause death having regard to the number and nature of the injuries.
- He was convicted under section 304(1) of IPC. The Court rejected to apply section 302.
