Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has ruled that the gravity of an injury, however severe, cannot by itself justify a conviction for attempt to murder unless the prosecution proves that the act was committed with the intention or knowledge to cause death — the essential ingredients under Section 307 of the IPC.
Justice Chaitali Chatterjee Das made this observation while modifying a 2015 conviction by a Ranaghat court that had sentenced three men — Debdas Basak alias Deba Basak and two others — to five years’ rigorous imprisonment for allegedly attempting to murder a man at Shantipur in Nadia district in 2004.
“The Court has to see whether the act, irrespective of its result, was done with such intention or knowledge as contemplated under Section 307 of the IPC,” Justice Das observed, holding that the presence of grievous injury alone could not establish intent to kill.
The case related to an assault on one Jagannath Dey, who was called out of his home past midnight on July 19, 2004, and attacked with sharp weapons. He sustained multiple injuries and lost vision in one eye. His wife lodged a complaint the following evening, leading to charges under Sections 307 and 34 of the IPC.
On appeal, the High Court found serious lapses in investigation — including confusion over the exact place of occurrence, absence of independent witnesses, and an incomplete seizure list. The alleged weapon, a bonti (vegetable cutter), was seized from one accused’s house but bore no bloodstain or identification mark. The investigating officer, the court noted, “conducted the investigation in a most perfunctory manner.”
While rejecting the defence claim that the injuries were accidental or caused in a drunken fall, the judge found the victim’s testimony credible and corroborated by medical evidence. Doctors confirmed that the injuries were caused by a sharp-cutting weapon and not by a broken glass bottle.
Holding that the prosecution proved the assault but not the intention or knowledge necessary to constitute attempt to murder, the court scaled down the conviction to Section 324 IPC (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons). The appellants were sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 each, with a further six months’ simple imprisonment in default. Justice Das, however, refused to extend the benefit of probation, noting that the attack was “premeditated and resulted in permanent disability.” The appeal was partly allowed.