Life Imprisonment for Murder Reduced to 10-Year Rigorous Imprisonment Under Section 304 Part II IPC
In a significant judgment, the Allahabad High Court modified the conviction of Jag Prasad Yadav alias Jaggu, originally sentenced to life imprisonment for murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), to a 10-year rigorous imprisonment under Section 304 Part II IPC. The Division Bench at Lucknow, comprising Justices Rajnish Kumar and Zafeer Ahmad, delivered the verdict on May 27, 2026, in response to a jail appeal filed by the appellant.
The case arose from an incident on April 22, 2015, when Jag Prasad Yadav was accused of throwing two children into a well, resulting in the death of a three-and-a-half-year-old boy named Shagun and injuries to a one-year-old girl. The trial court had convicted Yadav under Sections 302, 307, and 323 IPC, sentencing him to life imprisonment for murder. However, the High Court found that the crime lacked premeditation and intent to kill.
The court noted that Yadav's actions stemmed from a moment of heat and frustration due to unfulfilled intentions toward the mother of the deceased, leading to the tragic incident. Acknowledging the absence of a motive to kill and the lack of premeditated intent, the court concluded that the case fell under the purview of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, as defined under Section 304 Part II IPC.
The High Court upheld the convictions under Sections 307 and 323 IPC, related to the attempted murder of the surviving child and the assault on the children's mother. The appellant has been in custody since April 25, 2015, and the court ordered his release upon completion of the revised sentence, subject to the payment of a fine of Rs. 50,000. The court also directed compliance with Section 437A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, requiring the appellant to file a personal bond and sureties within two weeks.
Bottom line:-
Conviction under Section 302 IPC modified to Section 304 Part II IPC due to lack of premeditation and intention to kill; life imprisonment replaced with 10 years rigorous imprisonment.
Statutory provision(s): Indian Penal Code, 1860 Sections 302, 304 Part II, 307, 323; Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 Section 437A.
