Holding

The Court held that there was no common intention to cause death; any common intention was limited to causing simple hurt, so only the principal assailant could be liable under Section 304 Part II, and the acquittal of the respondents stands.

Summary

The incident occurred on 30 March 1993 when Lamber Singh was assaulted in his field by Sarwan Singh, who wielded a broken gandasi, and several others armed with lathis, resulting in his death. The accused – Sarwan Singh (deceased), Jagtar Singh (deceased), Nazar Singh and Baldev Singh – were convicted by the trial court under Section 304 Part II IPC read with Section 34 and sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment, along with conviction under Section 323 IPC. On appeal, the Himachal Pradesh High Court acquitted the respondents, prompting the State to challenge the acquittal before this Court. The key issue was whether the accused shared a common intention to cause death, thereby attracting liability under Section 304 Part II read with Section 34, or whether any common intention was limited to causing simple hurt. After examining the medical reports, witness statements and the lack of any evidence of a pre‑planned assault, the Court held that there was no intention to cause death; any common intention, if it existed, was only to cause simple hurt, making only the principal assailant (Sarwan Singh) liable under Section 304 Part II. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed and the acquittal upheld.

Issues considered

Did the accused share a common intention to cause the death of Lamber Singh under Section 34 IPC?
Do the injuries sustained constitute culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II IPC?
Can the prosecution evidence establish the requisite common intention for conviction of all accused?
Is a conviction under Section 304 Part II read with Section 34 sustainable against the respondents other than the principal assailant?

Legislation cited

Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 149, s. 302, s. 304(Part II), s. 323, s. 34

Subjects

common intentionculpable homicide not amounting to murderSection 304 IPCSection 34 IPCmurdersimple hurtevidence assessmentappellate reviewacquittal

Judgment

[2009] 7 S.C.R. 1117

1 STATE OF H.P. A
V.
NAZAR SINGH AND ANR.
Criminal Appeal No. 1403 of 2003
MAY 6, 2009
~
[S.B. SINHA AND DR. MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA, JJ.]
.·
Penal Code, 1860 - s.304 Part II r/w s.34 - Culpable
"" t homicide not amounting to murder - Common intention -
Death due to armed assault - Four accused viz. 'S', 'J' and
the two respondents - A/legation that 'S' inflicted two injuries c
on deceased's head with a 'gandasi' whereas the other accused
inflicted 'lathi' blows - Held: On facts, there was no intention
on part of any accused to cause death - Common intention, if
any, assuming there was one, was to cause simple hurt as all
ten injuries were found to be simple except one injury which D
the deceased suffered on his forearm - If common intention
was formed merely to cause simple hurt, only accused 'S' was
guilty of offence under s.304 Part II and not the respondents.
CRIMINALAPPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
No. 1403 of 2003 E

From the Judgment and Order dated 03.06.2002 of the
Hon'ble High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla in Criminal
- ... Appeal No. 41 of 1994
Naresh K. Sharma, for the Appellant. F

l.B. Gaur, S.S. Nehra, Neeraj Dutt Gaur, for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
S.B. SINHA, J. G
1. The State is before us aggrieved by and dissatisfied
with a judgment of acquittal passed by a Division Bench of the
High Court of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla in Criminal Appeal
No. 41of1994.
1117 H
1118 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 7 S.C.R.

A 2. Sarwan Singh (since deceased), Jagtar Singh (since
deceased) as well as Nazar Singh and Baldev Singh,
respondents herein were prosecuted for commission of an
offence under Section 302 read with Section 34 and Section
323 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short,
B "the Code") for causing death of one Lamber Singh and simple
hurt to one Avtar Singh.
3. The occurrence took place at about 9.30 p.m. on
30.03.1993 in the field of the deceased Lamber Singh. Lamber
Singh had gone to tie his dog therein. PW-1 Bakshish Singh,
C brother of the deceased, after some time heard him shouting
whereupon he ran towards the field and found that Sarwan Singh
armed with gandasi and others armed with lathis had been
assaulting the deceased. Sarwan Singh is said to have inflicted
two injuries with a gandasi on his head whereas the others were
D said to have inflicted lathi blows on him.
4. Avtar Singh alias Bittu (PW-2) also reached there. Both
these witnesses attempted to save him but were attacked by
them. Avtar Singh allegedly was hit by Sarwan Singh with the
handle of broken gandasi on his right arm. Further, the
E prosecution case is that all the convicts went towards cattle shed
using abusive language threatening to kill them. The motive for
the said incident is said to be a quarrel which had taken place
20 days prior thereto at the time of solemnization of the marriage
of two nieces of PW-1. ~ -
F
5. Lamber Singh was brought to a hospital in an injured
condition. His medical history was recorded. He put his left
thumb impression. He, however, did not name any person
responsible for inflicting those injuries on him. He died at about
G 3.40 a.m.
6. All the accused persons were arrested on 1.04.1993.
They were taken into custody on 1.04.1993. +9They were,
however, for reasons best known to the investigating officer
shown to have been formally arrested on 2.04.1993.
H
STATE OF H.P. V. NAZAR SINGH AND ANR. 1119
[S.B. SINHA, J.]

7. Relying on or on the basis of the evidence of the A
aforementioned Avtar Singh, who is said to be an injured
witness, the learned Trial Judge opined that the accused are
guilty of commission of an offence under Section 304 Part II of
the Indian Penal Code read with Section 34 thereof. They were
sentenced .to undergo seven years' rigorous imprisonment. A B
fine of Rs. 5000/- was also imposed on them. They were also
sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months
each under Section 323 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal
Code.

8. Three appeals were preferred thereagainst, viz., C
'
(i) Respondents preferred Criminal Appeal No. 41 of
1994 against their conviction and sentence imposed
by the Trial Court. ·

(ii) The State preferred an appeal for enhancement of D
their sentence which was marked as Criminal Appeal
No. 270 of 1994.
(iii) The State filed another appeal being Criminal Appeal
No. 92 of 1995 questioning the judgment of acquittal E
against Sarwan Singh and others under Section 302
read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

9. By reason of the impugned judgment, the High Court
• _. has allowed the appeal preferred by the respondents and
passed a judgment of acquittal. F
10. The State did not prefer any appeal against the
dismissal of its appeals in Criminal Appeal Nos. 270 of 1994
and 92 of 1995. An appeal has been preferred only against the
judgment passed in Criminal Appeal No. 41 of 1994.
G
11. Indisputably, Sarwan Singh and Jagtar Singh died on
5.02.2002 and 4.11.2000 respectively, i.e., during pendency of
the appeal.
12. Mr. Naresh K. Sharma, learned counsel appearing on
behalf of the State, would contend: H
1120 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009]7 S.C.R. ·

A (i) Respondents having gone to the field of the deceased
variously armed must be held to have formed a

(ii)
common intention to cause death of the deceased
Lamber Singh.

PW-2 being an injured witness, the High Court should
-
B not have disbelieved his evidence particularly when
implicit reliance thereupon had been placed by the
learned Trial Judge.

(iii) There was furthermore no reason as to why the
,..
c evidence of PW-1 also could not have been relied ...,
upon.
(iv) As the medical report shows that the deceased had
suffered as many as 10 injuries, the High Court should
have presumed participation of more than one
D accused.
(v) Only because no incised wound was found, the same,
by itself, could not have been the conclusive proof of
innocence of the respondents herein particularly in
view of the defence raised by them before the learned
E
Trial Judge only to the effect that they had no common
intention.
13. Dr. l.B. Gaur, learned counsel appearing on behalf of
the respondents, however, would support the impugned
~. .
F judgment.
14. Before adverting to the contentions raised by Mr.
Sharma, we may notice the medical evidence.
The injury report which was prepared at about 1.40 a.m.
G inter alia reads, thus:
"1. There was present swelling and tenderness over left
elbow. The swelling was reddish bluish in colour. There
was present rail track contusion just above the elbow. The
contusion was horizontal and was 4 cm x 5 cm in size with
H reddish in center and bluish at the periphery.
STATE OF H.P V. NAZAR SINGH AND ANR. 1121 1

[S.B. SINHA, J.]

*** *** *** A
6. There was present a wound over the left s.ide of the
scalp 2 cm lateral to midline. The wound was vertical Jn
direction. The size of the wound was 8 cm x 1 cm x 1 ,cm.
The hair around the wound were matted with blood and !~
were not chopped. Clotted blood was present in the wound. 8
The margins of the wound were irregular and ragged.

7. There was present a wound over right side of the
scalp 4 cm lateral. to midline. The wound was oblique in
direction. The size of the wound was 6 cm x i cm x 1 cm. c
The hair around the wound were matted with blood. The
hair were not chopped. The margins of the wound were
irregular and ragged."
According to the doctor, Injury No. 1 was grieyous and all
other injuries being Injury Nos. 2 to 10 were simple in nature. D.
The doctor did not reserve his opinion for any of the injuries and
.1 any X-ray or any other test was not prescribed.
Dr. R.K. Jaswal, autopsy surgeon, however, observed the
following injuries on the body of the deceased: ·
E
"1. Diffuse swelling and echymosis of the left elbow.

2. There was long bruise 15 cm x 4 cm with healthy
center on the left arm.
~
~
3. Diffuse swelling and ecchimosis on the right arm. F
4. Rail road contusion on the back 12 cm x 5 cm
5. There was stitched wound on left side of the scalp 2
cm lateral to the midline. The wound was vertical in ·
direction. On removing the stitches the wound (j
measured 8 cm x 1 cm x 1 crri.
6. Bluish ecchimosis of the left ankle.
7. Oblique wound on the right side of the scalp about
1.1/2 inch lateral to the midline. Stitched 6 cm in .. H
' ' ,,/
1122 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009J 7 s.c.R.·

A length and had blood underneath it with fracture of
the underlying skull.
8. Multiple bruises over the whole of the body."
The autopsy surgeon was of the opinion that Injury Nos. 6
s and 7 and the injury on the parietal region were sufficient to
cause death in the ordinary course of nature.

No incised wound was found. Sarwan Singh is said to have
used gandasi. He, according to PWs 1 and 2, the so-called
eye-witnesses, caused injuries on the parietal region which,
C according to Mr. Sharma, were sufficient to cause death.
15. Indisputably, Sarwan Singh is dead. We would proceed
on the assumption that he could have been found guilty for
commission of an offence under Section 304 Part II of the Indian
Penal Code for causing death of the deceased Lamber Singh.
0
16. From the evidence brought on record, it appears that
the deceased went to his field on hearing the barking of his dog
at 9.30 p.m. It was a dark night. There is nothing to show that all
the accused persons were waiting for him or had come to assault
E him with any common intention. According to the prosecution, a
dispute arose with regard to laying down of a pipeline three
months prior to the date of occurrence. It, however, appears
that the matter was settled through the intervention of the
'panchayat.Allegedly, as noticed hereinbefore, the accused had
F abused PW-1 at the time of marriage of his nieces in his village.
Nothing has been brought on record to show that there existed
any enmity between the deceased and the accused. We have
noticed hereinbefore that cause of his injuries was disclosed
by the deceased himself. He put his left thumb impression. He
G did not name the respondents therein. As he had put his left
thumb impression, it may be presumed that he was conscious
at that time.
17. According to PW-2, after assaulting Lamber Singh,
the accused persons were standing at some distance and all of
H a sudden Sarwan Singh came and assaulted him.
STATE OF H.P. V. NAZAR SINGH AND ANR. 1123
[S.B. SINHA, J.]

1,_8. Why the accused who were taken to custody on A
1.04.1993 but were shown to have been formally arrested on
2.04.199~ is not known. Both the prosecution witnesses stated
that the handle of the gandasi had broken down. Why the broken
part of the gandasi was not seized was not disclosed.
19. The deceased, as noticed hereinbefore, died after 3 B
O'clock in the morning. The investigating officer Head Constable
Ram Nath (PW-10)had gone to hospital upon receipt of an
information. He tried to record the statement of the deceased
twice. As he was not in a position to give a statement, he
recorded the statement of PW-1. It is in the aforementioned C
situation difficult to accept that the First Information Report was
recorded at 12.45 p.m., i.e., on the said night itself.
20. If Sarwan Singh and others had any intention to cause
the death of Lamber Singh, he could have used his gandasi
0
from the sharp end. In the statement before the medical officer
by the deceased, assault by gandasi also had not been
mentioned.
21. It is wholly unlikely that when a large number of villager~.
as stated by PWs 1 and 2 had assembled, other circumstances E
and in particular assault by Sarwan Singh upon PW-2 would
not be testified by any other independent person. In this situation,
it is difficult to comprehend as to how a common intention was
formed to cause murder of the deceased.
Mr. Sharma would contend that they must have formed a F
common intention. Such common intention, if any, assuming
there was one, was to cause simple hurt as all the ten injuries
were found to be simple except Injury No. 1 which was suffered
by the deceased on his forearm. We would, however assume
that Injury Nos. 6 and 7 were not noticed to be grievous injury by G
the doctor. It may be so but the nature of injuries inflicted on
other parts of the body of the deceased clearly go to show that
the others did not come with common intention to cause his
death as his presence in the field was wholly unexpected.
H
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 7 S.C.R.

A 22. It is well settled that there exists a distinction between
common intention and common object.

In Mohinder Singh and Ors. v. State of Punjab [JT 2006(4)
SC 96], this Court observed:

B "21. In Rabindra Mahto and Ors. v. State of Jharkhand JT
2006 (1) SC 137, this Court has held that under Section
149 IPC, if the accused is a member of an unlawful
assembly, the common object of which is to commit a
certain crime, and such a crime is committed by one or
c more of the members of that assembly, every person who
happens to be a member of that assembly would be liable
for the commission of the crime being a member of it
irrespective of the fact whether he has actually committed
the criminal act or not. There is a distinction between the
common object and common intention. The common object
D
need not require prior concert and a common meeting of
minds before the attack, and an unlawful object can
develop after the assembly gathered before the
commission of the crime at the spot itself. There need not
be prior meeting of the mind. It would be enough that the
E members of the assembly which constitutes five or more
persons, have common object and that they acted as an
assembly to achieve that object. l.n substance, Section
149 makes every member of the common unlawful
assembly responsible as a member for the act of each
F and all merely because he is a member of the unlawful
'assembly with common object to be achieved by such an
unlawful assembly. At the same time, one has to keep in
mind that mere presence in the unlawful assembly cannot
render a person liable unless there was a common object
G and that is shared by that person. The common object has
· to be found and can be gathered from the facts and
circumstances of each case."
23. The State having not preferred any special leave
against the dismissal of their appeals against the judgment of
'
H, ' . ~
STATE OF H.P. V. NAZAR SINGH AND ANR. 1125
[S.B. SINHA, J.]

acquittal recorded by the Trial Court under Section 302/34. of A
the Indian Penal Code, they must be held to have accepted the
judgment of the Trial Court under Section 304 Part II thereof. ·
24: There was, in our opinion, in the facts and circum-.
stances of the case, no intention on the part of any one of the
accused to cause death. If there was such intention, it is difficult · B
to form an opinion that they could have formed an intention to
cause unintentional death. It is not a case where they had
exercised their right of private defence. · ·

The matter might have been different if they were convicted c.
under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. If a common
intention was formed merely to cause simple hurt, only Sarwan
Singh was guilty of causing an offence under Section 304 Part
II of the Indian Penal Code and not others.
25. Respondents have already been convicted for D
commission of an offence under Section 323 of the Indian Penal
;
Code and they must have been in custody for some time. We,
therefore, do not intend to interfere with the impugned judgment.
The appeal is dismissed.

B.B.B. Appeal dismissed ..