Judgement modified

A man's four-year jail-term for slapping an three-wheeler driver leading to his death nine years ago was today modified by the Delhi High Court saying the accused had no intention to cause the victim's death.
The court, however, upheld the man's conviction under a lesser penal provision for causing simple injury to the deceased than the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Justice Siddharth Mridul modified the sentence, awarded by the trial court to Laxmi Narayan for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 part-II of IPC but convicted the appellant for causing simple injury to the deceased under section 323 of IPC saying "justice would be met if the appellant(convict) is sentenced to the period (in jail) undergone."

"The medical evidence suggested that the injury caused was simple in nature and it could not be categorically stated that death of the deceased (Upendra Chaudhary) was due to shock caused by the injury. The accused is accordingly convicted under section 323 of IPC for causing simple hurt," the court said adding "the cause of death was subarachnoid haemorrhage by rupture of the brain which can occure due to excitement or emotion caused by anger, aggressiveness and hypertension...
The court considered the post offence conduct of the man for making all efforts to get medical help for the victim and said "undoubtedly the act was not done with the intention of causing death or causing such bodily injury as the appellant knew was likely to cause the death nor was the bodily injury intended to be inflicted sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death...The offence, therefore, of culpable homicide punishable under 304-II was not committed," the court said.