An accused cannot be convicted for murder, if a person dies of simple injuries sustained in an attack by him without a motive to kill, the Supreme Court has ruled.
A bench of Justices T S Thakur and Gyan Sudha Mishra gave the ruling while upholding a Rajasthan High Court judgement which acquitted six persons in a murder case on the ground that though they had attacked the victim Lalu, their intention was not to kill him. “Even the doctor who conducted the post-mortem did not certify the injuries to be sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course," added Justice Thakur.
The trial court had earlier convicted, Mohan Lal, Nathu, Suraj Mal, Laxman, Kalu, Balu Ram, and sentenced them to life imprisonment for murdering Lalu on January 23, 2000 at Sewana village in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district.
Published 25 March 2012, 20:04 IST