Delhi high court reduces life imprisonment to 5-year jail term

Observing that the offence was committed in a fit of rage, the Delhi high court has reduced to a five-year jail term the life imprisonment awarded to a man for killing his father four years ago.

The court also altered the charge against accused Arshad from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

According to the prosecution, on March 3, 2006, Arshad had hit his father with a 'sil batta' (grinding stone) when he saw him abusing his mother, which led to the death of the victim at their home in a slum cluster in Sarai Rohilla area in New Delhi.

"We find it difficult to infer that the appellant had any intention to cause death of the deceased or cause him injury which was likely to result in his death," said a bench of justice AK Sikri and justice Ajit Bharihoke.

"The appellant (Arshad) had acted in a fit of rage without pre-meditation and had not taken undue advantage of the situation nor had he acted in a cruel or unusual manner," the bench observed.

"The result is that the conviction of the appellant under section 302 (murder) IPC can not be sustained. It is accordingly converted into conviction under section 304 part-II (culpable homicide) IPC," the court also said and allowed the appeal filed by Arshad.

The court considered that the man is 23-year-old and is in incarceration for more than four years since his arrest. It also took into account that there was no conviction record in the past.