"Chhattisgarh High Court Considers Superstitious Beliefs, Reduces Prison Sentence in Witchcraft-Related Murder Case"
The Chhattisgarh High Court recently took into account prevailing superstitious beliefs in certain regions of the country while revisiting a murder case. In the case of Madan Lal Sahu v. State of Chhattisgarh, the court reduced the prison sentence of a man who had been convicted for killing his aunt. The man believed that his wife had fallen ill due to witchcraft by his aunt.
The court, comprising Justices Sanjay K Agrawal and Radhakishan Agrawal, acknowledged that the convict hailed from a backward area where superstitions were deeply ingrained. The community to which the convict and the deceased woman belonged was underdeveloped and predominantly illiterate, with many members holding superstitious beliefs. The court learned that in such areas, practices of magic and witchcraft were common, sometimes leading to false accusations against women as witches, and even panchayats passing bizarre orders against them.
The judgment stated that the community often attributed misfortunes and problems in their lives to witchcraft, leading to feelings of revenge and suspicion. In the present case, the man had attacked his aunt out of anger and suspicion that she was responsible for his wife's illness due to witchcraft.
Initially, the trial court had sentenced the man to life imprisonment under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for murder. However, the High Court found no evidence of premeditation and reevaluated the situation. They concluded that the act was not premeditated murder but rather culpable homicide not amounting to murder, under Section 304, Part II of the IPC.
Considering that the convict had already spent over nine years in jail, the court reduced his sentence to the period already served. Consequently, the court ordered his release from jail, unless he was required to remain imprisoned in connection with any other case. However, the court upheld his conviction and sentence under Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Tonhi Pratadna Adhiniyam, the state's law against "witch" hunting.
Advocate Indira Tripathi represented the appellant (convict), and Deputy Government Advocate Sudeep Verma represented the State government in the proceedings.
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TAGS: Superstitious beliefs Chhattisgarh High Court prison sentence aunt's murder witchcraft suspicion underdeveloped community superstitious practices culpable homicide reduced sentence Tonhi Pratadna Adhiniyam witch-hunting law.
