Mumbai: The Bombay high court quashed and set aside a city sessions court’s Oct 19, 2024 conviction and life sentence of a Kanjurmarg (E) man for the murder of his elder brother with a cement paver block.Allowing his appeal, Justices Ajey Gadkari and Shyam Chandak on March 10 instead convicted Hemant Devrukhkar under IPC Section 304 (Part I) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced him to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI).According to the prosecution, Sainath was addicted to tobacco and spat in the house. He abused and assaulted his mother and brother, who persuaded him to give up the vices. On April 12, 2018, around 9 pm, a quarrel ensued after Sainath began spitting and making loud noises. Sainath beat up Hemant, who was unwell with jaundice. The next morning at 7 am, the mother heard the sound of a stone falling, followed by Sainath’s cries. He was hit with a cement block on the head and mouth. Hemant told her he put an end to the daily disputes. The next day, Sainath succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Hemant’s advocate, Nitesh Nevshe, argued that Sainath’s death was caused without premeditation on account of the sudden fight and in the heat of passion. The offence could not be murder but culpable homicide not amounting to murder, he said. Prosecutor Ashish Satpute said such quarrels occurred on previous occasions and Hemant “intentionally” killed Sainath to put an end to disputes.The judges said witnesses’ evidence corroborated Hemant’s “extra-judicial confession” to his mother, which cannot be overlooked. She admitted Sainath’s behaviour was “unbearable”. The spot panchnama clearly showed the family resided in a small room, and Sainath “further created hardship by spitting tobacco and keeping it unhygienic”. The judges noted that Sainath assaulted Hemant, though he was unwell and not at fault. “On the contrary, he wanted Sainath to give up his addictions and improve,” they said.The judges concluded that Hemant’s “act of causing the homicidal death of Sainath” fell under Exception 1 of IPC Section 300 (murder), where the offender loses self-control by grave and sudden provocation, causing the death of the provoker or any other person by mistake or accident. They said Sainath’s “cumulative and continued abuse” towards Hemant and his mother over a period of time, coupled with a provocative assault on Hemant during their last quarrel, resulted in “continuing the stress by provocation, which ultimately led to the unfortunate homicidal death of Sainath.” The “appropriate” conviction is Section 304 (Part I), they added.
