SUPREME COURT: COMMON INTENTION CANNOT BE INFERRED MECHANICALLY MERELY BASED ON PRESENCE OF ACCUSED NEAR CRIME SCENE

The Supreme Court in the case Velthepu Srinivas v. State Of Andhra Pradesh, now the State of Telangana observed while affirming that the life imprisonment of three accused or appellants for murder, modified the sentence of another accused, A3 to culpable homicide and sentenced him to ten years.

The Division bench comprising of Justice BR Gavai and Justice PS Narasimha in the case observed ad has opined that the Trial and the High Court convicted A3 based on Section 34, the common intention of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Thus, he was present near the scene of offence and had familial relations with the other accused.

The court in the case noted that there is neither oral nor documentary evidence to attribute A-3 with the intent to murder and that the inference was drawn mechanically under Section 34 merely based on his presence near the scene of offence and his familial relations with the other accused.

Facts of the Case: The accused, 1 to 4, and the deceased, come from the same village.