Holding

The Court held that the appellant’s acts attracted Section 300(iii) IPC, constituting murder, and dismissed the appeal.

Summary

The appellant, Sheikh Rafi, was convicted of murder for chasing and stabbing his brother with a knife, inflicting 19 injuries that included vital organs. He appealed, arguing that the facts only warranted a conviction under Part II of Section 304 IPC, not Section 302. The Supreme Court examined the nature, number, and location of the injuries, the lack of any grave and sudden provocation, and the fact that the victim was unarmed and helpless. Relying on the statutory requirements of Section 300(iii) IPC and precedents, the Court held that the injuries were inflicted in a cruel and unusual manner, satisfying the elements of murder. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed and the conviction under Section 302 upheld.

Issues considered

Whether the appellant's conduct constitutes murder under Section 300(iii) IPC or merely culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Part II of Section 304 IPC.

Legislation cited

Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 300, s. 302, s. 304

Subjects

murderculpable homicideIPC Section 300IPC Section 302IPC Section 304number of injuriesprovocationcruel and unusual mannerintentcriminal law

Judgment

-- ;,
SHEIKH RAFI
v.
A

STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH AND ANR.

APRIL 24, 2007

[S.B. SINHA AND MARKANDEY KA TJU, JJ.] B

" Penal Code 1860-Ss. 300 "Thirdly" & 302-Murder-Accused chased
""" deceased and then stabbed him with knife-19 injuries caused in quick
succession-Injuries on vital body parts-Held; Knife was indiscriminately
used-Injuries were caused in a cruel and unusual manner-19 injuries
c
caused in quick succession cannot be said to have been caused as a result
of grave and sudden provocation-Very fact that so many injuries were
caused in quick succession and particularly where the deceased being
unarmed and in a helpless situation, is sufficient to indicate that s. 300
"Thirdly" was attracted-Charge of murder proved D

f According to the prosecution, in context to a dispute with regard to
share in the joint family property, a quarrel took place between Appellant and
his brother pursuant to which the former chased the latter with a knife and
inflicted injuries by stabbing indiscriminately. The injuries proved fatal Trial
Court held Appellant guilty u/s 302 IPC. High Court upheld the conviction E

In appeal to this Court the question which arose for consideration is
whether in the facts and circumstances of the case, Appellants liable to be
held guilty only under Part II of Section 304, IPC and not under Section 302
,,. ,. IPC Dismissing the appeal, the Court
F
HELD: 1.1. Although, in a given case, the number of injuries on the
person of the deceased may not be the determinative factor, the same, however,
is relevant. 19 injuries have been inflicted by the appellant, as had been found
by the autopsy surgeon. Nature of the injuries and the different parts of the
body of the deceased whereupon the same were inflicted clearly go to show
G
that the knife was indiscriminately used. Injuries had been caused to vital
parts of the body of the deceased namely chest, abdomen. His lungs and liver
were also damaged. [Paras 12 and 13) [471-A, B; 472-D)

1.2. Appellant evidently intended to cause grievous injuries to the
467 H
468 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2007] 5 S. C.R.

A deceased. The deceased was unarmed. He was merely resisting infliction of
injuries on him by a knife and in the process the appellant also received minor
" ·-
injuries and that too on his thigh, palm and shoulder. Such minor injuries
received by the appellant were not required to be explained by the prosecution.
[Paras 14 and 15) [472-E, F)

B 2. Incident did not take place at or near the house of the appellant
Deceased might have picked up quarrel with his mother in the morning but
the same by itself cannot be treated to be relevant for the purpose of ~

determining the nature of the offence. What would amount to a "murder" is ~

stated in Section 300, IPC. What is necessary for attracting the said provision
c inter alia would be that if the person committing the act, knew that it is so
imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause death or such bodily
injury as is likely to cause death. Exceptions to the said rule would be
attracted only when the offender is deprived of his power of self control which
is caused by grave and sudden provocation by the deceased or any other person,
or by mistake or accident Exceptions appended to Section 300 are subject to
D the provisos contained therein. (Paras 16 and 17) [472-F, G; 473-A)

Virsa Singh v. State of Panjab, AIR (1958) SC 465; Vadla Chandraiah
v. State of A.P., (2006) 14 SCALE 108 and Chandrappa & Ors. v. State of '
Karnataka, (2007) 3 SCALE 90, relied on

E 3.1. Each case must be judged its own facts. The distinctive feature in
the present case are the injuries which have been caused in a cruel. and
unusual manner. Apart from the purported quarrel picked up by the deceased
with his mother, there is no immediate provocation which can be said to be
the immediate cause leading to the assault. The deceased was chased and the
F
injuries have been inflicted on a main road and that too before a hospital. It ., ..
was caused in the evening before a large number of person. He could have
been caught and disarmed only by a constable. Evidently others including PW-
5 and PW-7 who had been witnessing the occurrence, did not even dare to do
so. [Paras 19 and 21) (474-D; 475-B, CJ
Sukhbir Singh v. State of Haryana, (2002) 3 SCC 327, distinguished.
G
3.2. Nineteen injuries caused in quick succession cannot be said to have
been caused as a result of grave and sudden provocation. The very fact that so
many injuries were caused in quick succession and particularly where the
deceased being unarmed and in a helpless situation, is sufficient to indicate
that Sec. 300 "Thirdly" is attracted in his case. The prosecution has brought
H
SHEIKH RAFI v. STATEOFANDHRAPRADESH [S.B. SINHA,J.] 469
~
)
materials on record to prove the charge of murder against the Appellant. A
(Paras 22 and 24) [475-C, D, G)

Ram Swarup and Ors. v. State ofHaryana etc., [1993) Supp. 4 SCC 344,
distinguished.

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 616 of B
2007.
,.
From the Judgment and Order date 28.03.2006 of the High Court of
... Judicature of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad in Criminal Appeal No. 2632 of
2004.
c
P.H. Parekh, Lalit Chauhan, Mary Mitzy (for MIS. P.H. Parekh & Co.) for
the Appellant.

D. Bharathi Reddy, Senha Bhaskaran and P. Vinay Kumar for the
Respondents.
D
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

S.B. SINHA, J. I. Leave granted.

2. Appellant herein and the deceased said Shaik Baji were brothers. PW-
3 (Abdul Munaft) and PW-4 (Shaik Abdul Ghouse) were also brothers. PW- E
2 is the mother of the appellant and the deceased. They are resident of village
Nandula Peth, in the town of Tenali in the State of Andhra Pradesh. The
family was owner of a shopping complex. Deceased was running his pump
repairing business in one of the shop rooms situated at the first floor of the
,,. said Complex. Deceased was allegedly insisting for partition of the joint
r property. In the morning of the fateful day i.e. 9.11.1998, he allegedly picked F
up a quarrel with PW-2 in regard to his share in the property. On refusal to
do so, she was allegedly assaulted. A quarrel also allegedly took place by and
between the deceased and the appellant at about 5 p.m. on the said day.
Appellant chased him with a knife. The deceased ran and came in front of the
casualty room of the hospital at Tenali, whereafter Appellant is said to have G
)( caught and inflicted injuries by stabbing him indiscriminately.

3. PW-I (P. Subbarao), a constable working in Pattabipuram Police
Station, while going to attend to his duties, found some people gathered on
• the street, and saw the appellant stabbing the deceased with a knife. A driver
attached to the Sub-Divisional Police Officer named Konduri Sridhar (PW-7) H
470 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2007] 5 S.C.R.
,..
·A also came to the scene of occurrence. PW-I caught hold of the appellant, and "
snatched away the knife from his hands. Officers of the Police Station were
informed by Sridhar (PW-7) about the incident.

4. The deceased, was treated by the casualty staff of the hospital.
However, PW-I came to learn there about his death about 10 minutes.
B Thereafter, Shri K. Venkatarao, PW-15, In charge of the Tenali Police Station,
thereafter visited the place of occurrence. Appellant was handed over to him
and a written complaint was lodged by PW-I. The knife with which the
offence was committed was also seized. In regard to the said occurrence, the ...
First Information Report was recorded at about 6.30 p.m.
c 5. Upon completion of investigation, the Investigating Officer submitted
the chargesheet and the appellant was ultimately put to trial. He was found
to be guilty of commission of an offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal
Code.

6. The incident was also witnessed inter alia by PW-5 ( Kota Bosu
D
Babu) and PW-7 (Konduri Sridhar). Their presence at the scene of occurrence
and being eye witnesses thereto is not in dispute. Brothers of the appellant
as also PW-3 and PW4 and also their mother PW-2, however, did not support
the prosecution case, the reason wherefor, is obvious.

E 7. The High Court also found the appellant guilty of commission of the
said offence and dismissed his appeal.

8. This Court had issued a limited notice in regard to the nature of the
offence.

9. Mr. P.H. Parekh, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant ~
.
F
would submit that the appellant cannot be said to have committed an offence
under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, but only under Part-II of Section
304 thereof. Backdrop of the events for the purpose of determining the nature
of the offences, it was urged, must be kept in mind and in this behalf emphasis
been laid on the fact that the deceased picked up quarrel with his mother in
G the morning and with the appellant in the evening in regard to partition of
the property. It was also pointed out that the deceased was a rowdy element. f

IO. The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State, however,
;
would support the impugned judgment.
H
SHEIKHRAFI v. STATEOFANDHRAPRADESH(S.B.SINHA,J.] 471
--.. ) 11. The short question which arises for consideration before us, therefore, A
is as to whether in the facts and circumstances of this case, the appellant was
guilty of commission of an offence only under Part-II of Section 304 of the
Indian Penal Code and not Section 302 thereof.

12. Although, in a given case, the number of injuries on the person of
the deceased may not be the determinative factor, the same, however, is B
relevant. 19 injuries have been inflicted by the appellant, as had been found
• by thr, autopsy surgeon, which are;
~
1. Incised wound present 5" above the front of the right wrist size of
I" x Yz'' x Y." Horizontal and Antemortem.
c
2. Incised wound present 2" below the right elbow on back side in a
size of 5" x 2" x Yz'' horizontal antemortem.

3. Incised wound present 2" below the right elbow joint front side of
2" x I" x V." oblique antemortem.
D
4. Incised wound present upper half of right arm insize of 2" x I" x
I" horizontal antemortem.

5. Incised wound present in right Epigastric region in a size of 2" x
V." x V." oblique antemortem.

6. An incised wound present 2" below the right knee 4" x 2" x 2" E
horizontal antemortem.

7. Incised wound present middle of the back of right thigh 4" x 2" x
2" vertical antemortem.

" t 8. An incised wound present right lumbar region 3" x 2" x I" oblique F
antemortem.

9. An incised wound present posterior aspect of right knee joint 2"
x2" x \!,"vertical antemortem.

- >;
I0. An abrasion is present on left hand thumb I" x \!," antemortem. G

11. An incised wound present in between left index and middle finger
2" x 2" antemortem.

12. An incised wound present medial aspect of middle left forearm I"
x I" horizontal antemortem.
H
472 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 5 S.C.R.

A 13. An incised wound present back of the left shoulder 2" x Yi" x Yi"
antemortem.

14. Incised wound present left side of the chest above and nipple l"x
Yi" x 2 horizontal antemortem penetrating type.

B 15. Incised wound present below left axilla x :Y." x Yi" x •;, vertical.

16. Incised wound present left epigastric region with protrusion
intestines antemortem.

17. An incised wound present left inguinal region 3" x I" x 2" vertical
antemortem.
c
18. An incised wound present lower half of left thigh 3" above left
knee. 4" x 2" x l" vertical antemortem.

19. Incised wound present lateral aspect of left thigh I" x 1/2" x 1/2"
vertical antemortem. "
D
13. Nature of the injuries and the different parts of the body of the
deceased whereupon the same were inflicted in our opinion clearly go to show
that the knife was indiscriminately used. Injuries had been caused to vital parts
of the body of the deceased namely chest, abdomen. His lung and lever were
also damaged.
E
14. Appellant evidently intended to cause grievous injuries to the
deceased. He put resistance thereto as far as possible and in the process
suffered injuries on his arms, finger and thigh.

15. The deceased was unarmed. He was merely resisting infliction of
F injuries on him by a knife and in the process the appellant also received minor f "
injuries and that too on his thigh, palm and shoulder. Such minor injuries
received by the appellant were not required to be explained by the prosecution.

16. Incident did not take place at or near the house of the appellant.
G Deceased might have picked up quarrel with his mother in the morning, but
the same by itself cannot be treated to be relevant for the purpose of determining
the nature of the offence. Distinction between Section 299 and Section 300 of
the Indian Penal Code is well known. What would amount to a "murder" is
-
stated in Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code. What is necessary for attracting
the said provision inter alia would be that if the person committing the act,
H knew that it is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability cause
SHEIKH RAFI v. STATE OF ..... NDHRA PRADESH [S.B. SINHA, J.] 473
·- j. death or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death. A
17. Exceptions to the said rule would be attracted only when the offender
is deprived of his power of self control which is caused by grave and sudden
provocation by the deceased or any other person, or by mistake or accident.
Exceptions appended to Section 300 are subject to the provisos contained
therein. Vivian Bose, J. in Virsa Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR (1958) SC 465, B
stated the law thus;
•
"(12) To put it shortly, the prosecution must prove the following facts
-'
before it can bring a case under S. 300, "thirdly";

First, it must establish, quite objectively, that a bodily injury is present; c
-Secondly, the nature of the injury must be proved; These are purely
objective investigations.

- Thirdly, it must be proved that there was an intention to inflict that
particular bodily injury, that is to say, that it was not accidental or

-
D
unintentional, or that some other kind of injury was intended.

-Once these three elements are proved to be present, the enquiry
proceeds further and,

-Fourthly, it must be proved that the injury of the type just described
made up of the three elements set out above is sufficient to cause E
death in the ordinary course of nature. This part of the enquiry is
purely objective and inferential and has nothing to do with the
intention of the offender.

~
)' (13) Once these four elements are established by the prosecution
(and, of course, the burden is on the prosecution throughout) the F
offence is murder under S. 300, "thirdly". It does not matter that there
was no intention to cause death. It does not matter that there was no
intention even to cause an injury of a kind that is sufficient to cause
death in the ordinary course of nature (not that there is any real
distinction between the two). It does not even matter that there is no G
Jo, knowledge that an act of that kind will be likely to cause death. Once
the intention to cause the bodily injury actually found to be present
is proved, the rest of the enquiry is purely objective and the only
question is whether, as a matter of purely objective inference, the
injury is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. No
H
474 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2007] 5 S.C.R.

A one has a licence to run around inflicting injuries that are sufficient ~-
to cause death in the ordinary course of nature and claim that they
are not guilty of murder. If they inflict injuries of that kind, they must
face the consequences; and they can only escape if it can be shown,
or reasonably deduced that the injury was accidental or otherwise
unintentional. "
B
18. In Vadla Chandraiah v. State of A.P., (2006) 14 SCALE 108, this
Court stated the law, thus,
,.
"13. The issue as to whether the case would fall under Section 302
IPC or under Section 304 Part-II thereof or not should be judged
c keeping in view the aforementioned factual backdrop. For the said
purpose, the term 'evidence brought on records' must be considered
in its entirety."

See also Chandrappa & Ors. v. State of Karnataka, (2007) 3 SCALE
90.
D
19. Each case, therefore, must be judged on its own facts.

20. Strong reliance has been placed by Mr. Parekh on Sukhbir Singh
..
v. State of Hr:ryana, [2002] 3 SCC 327, wherein this Court held as under:-

E "The High Court has also found that the occurrence had taken place
upon a sudden quarrel but as the appellant was found to have acted
in a cruel and unusual manner, he was not given the benefit of such
exception. For holding him to have acted in a cruel and unusual
manner, the High Court relied upon the number of injuries and their
location on the body of the deceased. In the absence of the existence '( "
F
of common object, the appellant cannot be held responsible for the
other injuries caused to the person of the deceased. He is proved to
have inflicted two blows on the person of the deceased which were
sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause his death. The
infliction of the injuries and their nature proves the intention of the
G appellant but causing of such two injuries cannot be termed to be
either in a cruel or unusual manner. All fatal injuries resulting in death !l
cannot be termed as cruel or unusual for the purposes of not availing
the benefit of Exception 4 of Section 300 IPC. After the injuries were
inflicted and the injured had fallen down, the appellant is not shown
to have inflicted any other injury upon his person when he was in a
H
SHEIKH RAFI v. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH [S.B. SINHA, J.] 475

-~
helpless position. It is proved that in the heat of passion upon a A
sudden quarrel followed by a fight, the accused who was anned with
bhala caused injuries at random and thus did not act in a cruel or
unusual manner."

21. Apparently the said decision was rendered on its own facts. We
may, however, notice that it came to be considered in Vadla Chandraiah B
(supra), The distinctive feature herein are the injuries which have been caused
in a cruel and unusual manner. Apart from the purported quarr1:l picked up
by the deceased with his mother, there is no other immediate provocation
. which can be said to be the immediate cause leading to the assault. The
deceased was chased and the injuries have been inflicted on a main road and
that too before a hospital. It was caused in the evening before a large number c
of persons. He could have been caught and disarmed only by a constable.
;. Evidently others including PW-5 and PW-7 who had been witnessing the
occurrence, did not even dare to do so.

22. Nineteen injuries caused in quick succession cannot be said to have
been caused as a result of grave and sudden provocation. The very fact that D
so many injuries were caused in quick succession and particularly where the
• t deceased being unanned and in a helpless situation, is sufficient to indicate
that Sec. 300 "Thirdly" is attracted in this case.

23. Reliance has also been placed by Mr. Parekh on Ram Swarup and
Ors. v. State ofHaryana etc., [1993] Supp. 4 SCC 344. That was a case where E
a plea of right of self defence was raised. In that case a fight between two
parties took place. Keeping in view the evidences brought on record, this
Court opined that the High Court adopted a wrong approach for judging the
case of bilateral clash in regard to the question as to which party was the
aggressor. Having regard to the nature of defence raised therein, viz. right of
~
)' self defence, number of injuries were found to be not a relevant factor for
F
determination as to whether prosecution party or the accused party was the
aggressor. This Court merely laid down that the question must be determined
on the factual matrix of each case. The ratio of the said decision, therefore,
is clearly not attracted.

24. We, therefore, are of the opinion that the prosecution has brought
G
.. materials on record to prove the charge of murder against the appellant.

25. Therefore, there is no merit in this appeal. It is dismissed accordingly.

B.B.B. Appeal dismissed. H