Source: Supreme Court

Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court in the matter of Velthepu Srinivas v. State of Andhra Pradesh (Now State of Telangana) & Anr., has held that common intention under the provisions of Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) cannot be inferred mechanically merely based on the presence of accused near the scene of offence.

What was the Background of Velthepu Srinivas v. State of Andhra Pradesh (Now State of Telangana) & Anr. Case?

• In this case, the accused 1 to 4 belonged to the same family, and the deceased came from the same village.
• The sister of the deceased and the wife of the accused 4 were political aspirants.
• In the said elections, the sister of the deceased succeeded, and the wife of A-4 lost and that, unfortunately, led to animosity between the two groups, eventually leading to the murder of the deceased.
• The Trial Court found all four accused guilty for the murder of the deceased and convicted them under Section 302 of IPC.
• All the accused appealed to the Telangana High Court.
• The High Court confirmed the judgment of the Trial Court and dismissed the criminal appeals.
• Thereafter, a criminal appeal was filed before the Supreme Court.
• The Supreme Court held that the accused 3 did not share a common intention to commit the murder.
• The Supreme Court upheld the conviction and sentence of accused 1, accused 2 and accused 4 under Section 302 of IPC and convicted accused 3 under Section 304 Part II of IPC and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for 10 years.

What were the Court’s Observations?

• The Division Bench of Justices BR Gavai and PS Narasimha observed that there is neither oral nor documentary evidence to attribute accused 3 with the intent to murder. The inference was drawn mechanically under Section 34 merely based on his presence near the scene of offence and his familial relations with the other accused.
• The Court further held that the prosecution has not been in a position to establish that accused 3 shared the common intention with the other accused to cause the murder of the deceased.

What are the Relevant Legal Provisions?

Section 34 of IPC

• Section 34 IPC states that when a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of such persons shall be liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone.
• Under the ambit of this section, every person engaged in the commission of a crime is held responsible by virtue of his or her participation in the criminal act.
• The following are the major ingredients of this section:
  • A criminal act must be done by several persons.
  • There must be a common intention of all to commit that criminal act.
  • Participation of all the persons is necessary in the commission of the common intention.
• In the case of Hari Om v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1993), it was held that it is not necessary that there must be a prior conspiracy or pre-meditation, the common intention can be formed in the course of the occurrence as well.

Section 304 of IPC

• Section 304 of IPC deals with the punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder whereas the same provision has been covered under Section 105 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
• Section 304 of IPC can be separated into two parts: Section 304 (Part I) and Section 304 (Part II).
  • Section 304(Part I) states that, Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine, if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.
  • Section 304 (Part II) states that, Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, or with fine, or with both, if the act is done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.

Culpable Homicide

• Section 299 of IPC deals with Culpable homicide whereas the same provision has been covered under Section 100 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
• It states that whoever causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing death, or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, or with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death, commits the offence of culpable homicide.