State of Gujarat v/s Haidarali Kalubhai

FACTS-

1. Mahomadali Kasamali, the sarpanch of village Nandasan, spent hours of the night near the Hotel Shanker Vijay near the highway from Mehsana to Ahmedabad. On August 23, 1969, the accused stopped a tractor on the highway and saw a truck parked opposite the hotel. The truck-owner had gone to the village, leaving his conductor Usman Imamali in the truck. The accused used the key of his tractor to start the truck and drove it by the open field in front of the hotel. The truck hit the steel cot on which the deceased was resting, causing the truck to dash against it and the deceased being thrown away. Head Constable Revajit and Constable Dalpat Singh and Vavdinmiya were also thrown away. 
2. The prosecution case alleged that the accused willfully and deliberately drove the vehicle towards the cot with the intention of causing death to the deceased Sarpanch. The State appealed against the judgement of the High Court.

ISSUE-

1. Whether the accused is liable u/s 304 of IPC?

JUDGEMENT-

1. Whether the facts that are established against the accused satisfy the requirements of section 304 Part II as submitted by Mr. Debabrata Mukherjee on behalf of the State, is the question that has to be answered. The skilled attorney contends that the conviction under Section 304A is not supportable because this is a clear case under Section 304 Part II.
2. When a person dies as a result of a hasty or careless action that is not a murder under section 300 IPC or culpable homicide under section 299 IPC, a particular crime is created under section 304A. Willful murder occurs when someone intentionally drives a car into a crowd, killing someone in the process. This is different from reckless or negligent driving since it constitutes culpable homicide. Therefore, the specific facts that have been proven against the accused in each case will determine the outcome.
3. According to § 162 of the Criminal Procedure Code, omitting to tell the authorities about a second truck approaching from the opposite direction might be considered a contradiction. Furthermore, it doesn’t really matter to us whether the accused used the tractor’s key or his key to operate the truck.
4. By its own meaning, Section 304A completely disallows any reference to Section 299 or Section 300 of the IPC. The elements of the crime of culpable homicide include acting with the purpose to murder someone or knowing that acting with that intent or knowledge will almost certainly result in someone dying. Section 304 A must make place for the graver and more severe allegation of culpable homicide where purpose or knowledge as specified above is the direct driving factor of the act complained of.
5. Neither the accused intention nor any deliberate act with the necessary knowledge for an offence of culpable homicide would be revealed by the tangential track of the speeding truck colliding with the corner of the steel cot, throwing it over the wooden cot and thereby throwing the deceased out of it, resulting in fatal injuries. The information provided in this instance is more consistent with the idea that the accused lost control of the car when it was moving at a high rate of speed and was attempting to turn into the kutcha road.
6. Therefore, the High Court did not make a mistake in ruling that the incident comes under section 304A of the IPC rather than under 304 Part II of the IPC. As a result, the appeal is denied. Appeal denied for C S.R.

REFERENCES-

1. Indiankanoon.com
2. CaseMine.com

This Case analysis is written by Anshula Grover, intern at Legal Vidhiya and a student at Shoolini University.

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