Telangana High Court defines lathi as non-lethal, alters murder conviction criteria

In a significant legal decision, the Telangana High Court has ruled that causing a person's death by striking them with a lathi or stick does not inherently imply an intention to cause death. As a result, such incidents may be categorized as culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

This landmark judgment emerged from a case in which the accused had originally been convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), pertaining to murder, but were now reclassified under Section 304 Part II.

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The Division Bench, comprising Justice K Lakshman and Justice K Srujana, issued this ruling. They overturned the previous murder conviction, stating, "The accused beat the deceased with sticks that are commonly used in villages and cannot be classified as deadly weapons. Besides the outstanding payment owed by Vittal to Srisailam, there were no other serious disputes between the accused and the deceased that would warrant a murder charge. Hence, it cannot be deemed a premeditated murder, and they did not attack the deceased with an intent to cause death."

The case revolved around an altercation arising from a disagreement concerning the distribution of agricultural proceeds. The conflict escalated into a violent assault, resulting in fatal head injuries to the deceased, who died at the scene.

The Court observed that all the accused were related to the deceased, and the dispute was relatively trivial. While the death was confirmed to be homicidal, it was established that the accused had employed sticks as weapons, which were not inherently lethal.

Moreover, the attack did not exhibit signs of premeditation, and there was no evidence suggesting that the accused intended to cause death. Consequently, the High Court determined that the appellants' actions fell under Section 304 Part II.

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The judgment partially allowed the appeal, and considering the duration since the appeal's filing, the court also reduced the sentence to the period of imprisonment already served by the accused. This decision establishes a significant legal precedent in cases involving fatal assaults with sticks or similar objects, emphasizing the importance of discerning intent in such situations.