Supreme Court Issues Notice on Chhattisgarh High Court Order Reducing Murder Conviction

The Supreme Court has issued notice in a murder case from Chhattisgarh and sharply criticised the High Court's handling of the appeal, which had reduced the conviction from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran heard the matter on October 14, 2026, according to Bar & Bench and ETV Bharat.

The case relates to the death of a woman in February 2021. The reports differ on some details of the incident, but agree that a post-mortem attributed her death to a head injury and that, before she died, she told her husband that the accused had assaulted her. In September 2022 a trial court convicted the accused of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

In November 2024, a Chhattisgarh High Court bench reduced the conviction to Section 304 Part II of the IPC and imposed a sentence of ten years, Bar & Bench reported. According to ETV Bharat, the High Court found no proven motive or premeditation and held that a sudden quarrel and heat of passion brought the case within an exception to the definition of murder.

The Supreme Court bench did not accept that approach at this stage. Its order, as quoted by Bar & Bench, said the High Court appeared to have overlooked the nature of the injuries, the weapons used and the genesis of the occurrence. The bench issued notice to the accused and the State of Chhattisgarh, asking why the High Court's order should not be set aside and the trial court's murder conviction restored. It said it would reconsider the matter on its merits.

During the hearing the judges made oral remarks that drew attention. Bar & Bench and ETV Bharat reported Justice Pardiwala as saying that the court should just see the pathetic condition of the High Court, and as observing that the distinction between the two parts of Section 304 is among the principles that law schools teach in the first year. ETV Bharat added that the bench described the High Court's handling of the case as slipshod and without any understanding of law. These were observations made orally during a hearing and are not findings in a final judgment.

ETV Bharat reported that the accused was represented by legal-aid counsel, who argued that no evidence supported the conviction. The Supreme Court has not yet decided the appeal. Issuing notice is a procedural step that gives the other side an opportunity to respond, and the accused's conviction by the trial court and the High Court's reduction of it both remain on record until the apex court rules.