Case Background
The case arises from a village dispute at Brahmpur, District Buxar, where the informant, Naresh Prasad Kanu, runs a sweet and samosa shop near the Brahmpur Shiv Mandir. According to him, the shop stands on his own land.
On 04.06.2011, he was allegedly laying bricks on land adjacent to his shop to prevent rain water from entering the premises. At that time, as per his written report, four neighbours, all from the Pandey family, arrived armed with weapons. A quarrel followed, in which he and his son Suresh Prasad were injured.
The police registered Brahmpur P.S. Case No.105 of 2011 on the basis of this written application. The case was registered under Sections 341, 323, 504, 324, 379, 307 read with 34 IPC against four named accused (later arrayed as respondent nos.2 to 5 in the appeal).
After investigation, the police submitted charge-sheet No.190 of 2011 dated 30.08.2011 under Sections 341, 323, 504, 325, 307 and 34 IPC against three persons, showing one accused, Pintu Pandey, as not sent up for trial. However, by order dated 24.07.2013, the Magistrate took cognizance against all four accused under the same sections and committed the case to the Court of Sessions.
The Additional Sessions Judge-II, Buxar, in Sessions Trial No.334 of 2013, framed charges on 13.11.2014 under Sections 307, 341, 323, 325, 379 and 34 IPC. The accused pleaded not guilty and faced a full trial.
The prosecution examined seven witnesses, including the informant, his injured son, three independent villagers, the doctor, and the Investigating Officer. Two injury reports were exhibited. The defence did not examine any witness, but produced certified copies of land records, civil court and revenue orders, and a civil suit to show a long-standing dispute over the shop and adjacent land.
On 24.09.2024, the trial court delivered judgment. It acquitted all four accused (respondent nos.2 to 5) of attempt to murder (Section 307 IPC) and theft (Section 379 IPC) but convicted them under Sections 341 and 325 read with 34 IPC. By order dated 04.10.2024, they were released on probation of good conduct on bonds of Rs.50,000 each for three years, and directed to deposit Rs.25,000 each as compensation, to be shared equally between the two injured persons.
The informant, relying on the proviso to Section 372 CrPC, filed Criminal Appeal (DB) No.1422 of 2024 before the Patna High Court. He challenged only two aspects: the acquittal from Sections 307 and 379 IPC, and the adequacy of the compensation awarded.
What the Court Examined and Decided
The Division Bench of the Patna High Court, comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Hon’ble Justice Smt. Soni Shrivastava, heard the appeal. The oral judgment was delivered on 17.04.2026 by Hon’ble Justice Smt. Soni Shrivastava.
First, the Court noted the exact scope of the appeal. It was not a general challenge to the conviction. It was an appeal under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC, confined to the acquittal from Sections 307 and 379 IPC and to the amount of compensation.
The Bench carefully went through the trial court judgment, the evidence of all witnesses, the medical reports, and the defence documents. It then examined the rival submissions.
On behalf of the informant–appellant, it was argued that this was not a minor quarrel but a serious attack. According to him, all seven prosecution witnesses supported the prosecution case. He emphasised that the injuries on the informant and his son were proved and found grievous by the doctor. Therefore, he claimed, the case clearly made out attempt to murder and theft. He also argued that the compensation of Rs.25,000 per accused was too low for such injuries.
On behalf of the State, the Additional Public Prosecutor took a different stand. He stressed that the entire episode arose out of a land dispute regarding the shop and adjacent land, which the accused claimed to be their ancestral property. He pointed out that a civil suit (Civil Suit No.371 of 2017) between the parties is pending and that an earlier police case, Brahmpur P.S. Case No.104 of 2011, also existed. According to him, the prosecution witnesses had made improvements during trial, and independent witnesses did not really support the claim of attempt to murder or theft. He supported the trial court’s acquittal on those charges.
The High Court then analysed the evidence witness by witness.
Three villagers, P.W.1, P.W.2 and P.W.3, were projected as independent eye-witnesses. In their examination-in-chief they said they saw the incident. However, during cross-examination, P.W.1 and P.W.3 admitted that when they reached the spot, they merely saw blood oozing from the injured persons’ heads. This created doubt whether they were actually present when the assault occurred. P.W.2 also told the Investigating Officer that the allegation of theft was false. P.W.3 admitted that his statement was recorded by police after 15–20 days, again affecting his reliability as an eye-witness.
Though these witnesses said the accused were armed with sticks, spear and a country-made pistol, none clearly stated that there was an actual attempt to kill. There were also differences in their versions about which accused carried which weapon. The High Court agreed with the trial court that these inconsistencies and improvements made their status as eye-witnesses doubtful.
The informant’s son, P.W.4 Suresh Prasad, said that on exhortation by Ganeshanand, a mar-pit started and both he and his father were injured. He also mentioned allegations of cash and chain being taken away. But in cross-examination, he could not say which particular weapon caused the head injury to his father.
The informant, P.W.6 Naresh Prasad Kanu, deposed on similar lines. In cross-examination he admitted that he himself suffered only one injury, whereas his son had two-three injuries caused by lathi blows.
The medical evidence came from P.W.5, Dr. Kumar Gaurav, who examined both injured persons.
For the informant, he found a lacerated injury on the left upper side of the skull (1″ x 0.2″ x 0.3″) and an abrasion with pain and swelling on the right knee joint. Based on X-ray, he treated the head injury as grievous because of a fracture of the parietal bone; the knee injury was simple.
For Suresh Prasad, he found a lacerated injury with swelling and rib involvement on the right side of the shoulder, an abrasion on the right ankle joint, and body pain. The shoulder injury was treated as grievous as the X-ray showed fracture of the third rib on the right side; the other two injuries were simple.
In cross-examination, the doctor clearly stated that the knee injury of the informant could not lead to death. He also noted there was no memo number on any injury report. The radiologist whose X-ray report formed the basis of the “grievous” opinion was not examined in court.
The Investigating Officer, P.W.7, testified that cases were filed from both sides regarding the same incident and he had submitted charge-sheets in both. Importantly, he stated that he found no blood or sign of violence at the alleged place of occurrence when he inspected it.
After reviewing all this, the High Court turned to the key legal question: whether the facts and evidence brought the case within Section 307 IPC (attempt to murder) or only within Section 325 IPC (grievous hurt), as held by the trial court.
The Court observed that only one grievous injury was found on the vital part of the informant’s body, and there were no repeated blows on the head. The son’s grievous injury was on the shoulder/rib area, but again there was no series of life-threatening attacks. The rest of the injuries were simple in nature.
The Court noted that the prosecution story itself did not show any prior plan to kill. The quarrel appeared to have started suddenly over laying bricks on disputed land adjacent to the shop, where both sides claimed rights. The I.O.’s statement that cases were filed from both sides supported this background of mutual dispute.
Another important fact for the Court was that although the accused were allegedly carrying a country-made pistol, no shot was fired. The weapon was not used at all. The Bench took this as a strong indicator that there was no intention to kill. If the real purpose had been murder, nothing prevented the accused from using the firearm.
The High Court then referred to Supreme Court decisions explaining Section 307 IPC, especially Shoyeb Raja vs State of Madhya Pradesh and Ors. (2024 SCC OnLine SC 2624), which in turn relied on State of Maharashtra vs Kashirao & Ors. (2003) 10 SCC 434. The essential ingredients of Section 307 were summarised: an attempt to cause death; an act capable of causing death or done with intent to cause death; and an imminently dangerous act without justification.
The Bench emphasised that the crucial element is the intention to cause death, not merely the seriousness of injuries. Even minor injuries can support a charge under Section 307 if clear intention is proved; conversely, grievous injuries may still not attract Section 307 if such intention is missing.
Applying these principles, the Court held that the necessary ingredients of Section 307 were not present in this case. The injuries, the single blow on the head, the non-use of the pistol, and the suddenness of the quarrel arising out of a land dispute together made it unsafe to hold that the accused intended to kill.
Regarding the theft allegation under Section 379 IPC, the Court found that it appeared “ornamental” when seen in the backdrop of a land fight. Not all witnesses even mentioned any snatching of cash, chain, or watch. P.W.2 explicitly told the I.O. that the allegation of theft was false. In such circumstances, the prosecution had not established theft beyond reasonable doubt.
The High Court also discussed the law on appreciation of injured witnesses’ testimony. It referred to Santosh vs State of Bihar (2020) 3 SCC 443, where the Supreme Court held that while injured witnesses usually have high evidentiary value, their statements are not automatically free from exaggeration or embellishment. Courts must still test their evidence for truthfulness.
Looking at the contradictions, improvements, and the overall background of the dispute, the Bench concluded that the trial court was correct in rejecting Sections 307 and 379 IPC and restricting conviction to Sections 341, 325 read with 34 IPC.
The Court then reminded itself of the limited power of an appellate court in an appeal against acquittal. It cited decisions such as Nikhil Chandra Mondal vs State of W.B. (2023) 6 SCC 605, Vijay Singh @ Vijay Kr. Sharma vs State of Bihar (2024 SCC OnLine SC 2623), Rajesh Prasad vs State of Bihar (2022) 3 SCC 471, and Chandrappa vs State of Karnataka (2007) 4 SCC 415. These cases stress that there is a double presumption of innocence in favour of an acquitted accused, and appellate courts should interfere only when the trial court’s findings are perverse or clearly illegal.
Finding that the trial court’s view was plausible, reasoned and supported by evidence, the Patna High Court refused to interfere with the acquittal under Sections 307 and 379 IPC.
On compensation, the Court held that the trial court had exercised its discretion in a judicious and equitable manner by directing each respondent to pay Rs.25,000, totalling Rs.1,00,000 for both injured persons. It saw no reason to enhance this amount.
Finally, the appeal was dismissed. The Bench clarified that its observations were confined to the legality of acquittal under Sections 307 and 379 IPC and to the compensation. If the respondents have filed any appeal against their conviction under Sections 341, 325/34 IPC, that appeal must be decided independently, without being prejudiced by the present judgment.
Why This Judgment Matters
This decision of the Patna High Court is important for people involved in village fights arising from land or shop disputes. It shows that courts look very closely at intention before branding an incident as “attempt to murder”.
Even where there are serious injuries and weapons present, Section 307 IPC will not automatically apply. The Court will see whether there was a clear plan to kill, whether deadly weapons were actually used, whether there were repeated attacks, and what the background of the quarrel was.
The judgment also warns that adding allegations of theft in a purely land or mar-pit dispute may not succeed unless there is clear and consistent evidence from multiple witnesses. If some witnesses themselves deny theft, courts are likely to treat the allegation as an afterthought.
For victims, the case highlights that while injured witnesses are trusted, their statements must still be consistent and free from major exaggeration. For accused persons, it underlines that once acquitted of serious charges, higher courts will interfere only where the trial court’s view is plainly unreasonable.
Legal Issues and Answers
Issue: Did the evidence in Brahmpur P.S. Case No.105 of 2011 prove the offence of attempt to murder under Section 307 IPC against the accused respondents?
Answer: No. The Patna High Court held that the injuries, background of a sudden land dispute, non-use of the pistol, and absence of repeated blows did not show an intention to cause death. Conviction was rightly limited to Section 325 IPC (grievous hurt) with Sections 341 and 34 IPC.
Issue: Was the charge of theft under Section 379 IPC proved against the respondents?
Answer: No. The Court found the theft allegation to be unsupported and inconsistent. One independent witness called it false, and not all witnesses mentioned any snatching of cash, chain or watch. Thus, the acquittal under Section 379 IPC was affirmed.
Issue: Should the compensation of Rs.25,000 from each respondent, directed by the trial court, be enhanced in appeal?
Answer: No. The High Court held that the trial court had exercised its discretion properly in directing payment of Rs.1,00,000 in all to the two injured persons, and there was no ground to interfere with or increase the amount.
Cases Cited by the Court
- Shoyeb Raja vs State of Madhya Pradesh and Ors., 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2624
- State of Maharashtra vs Kashirao & Ors., (2003) 10 SCC 434
- Santosh vs State of Bihar, (2020) 3 SCC 443
- Nikhil Chandra Mondal vs State of W.B., (2023) 6 SCC 605
- Vijay Singh @ Vijay Kr. Sharma vs State of Bihar, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2623
- Rajesh Prasad vs State of Bihar, (2022) 3 SCC 471
- Chandrappa vs State of Karnataka, (2007) 4 SCC 415
Case Details
Case Number: Criminal Appeal (DB) No.1422 of 2024, arising out of Brahmpur P.S. Case No.105 of 2011, District Buxar; Sessions Trial No.334 of 2013
Case Title: Naresh Prasad Kanu @ Naresh Sah vs The State of Bihar & Ors.
Citation: 2026 (3) PLJR 419
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajeev Ranjan Prasad; Hon’ble Justice Smt. Soni Shrivastava
Advocates: Dr. Kamal Deo Sharma, Advocate for the appellant; Mr. Syed Ashfaque Ahmad, Additional Public Prosecutor for the State
Nature of the Case: Victim’s criminal appeal under the proviso to Section 372 CrPC against partial acquittal (from Sections 307 and 379 IPC) and against quantum of compensation, arising from an assault case linked to a land/shop dispute.
Date of High Court Judgment: 17.04.2026
Trial Court Judgment and Sentence Orders: Judgment dated 24.09.2024 and order of sentence dated 04.10.2024 passed by the Court of the Additional Sessions Judge-II, Buxar
Link to Full Judgment: Patna High Court Judgment in Cr. App. (DB) No.1422 of 2024
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