The Karnataka High Court has ruled that squeezing a man’s testicles during a fight cannot be called an “attempt to murder” as it overturned an order of a trial court which had earlier convicted a 38-year-old man. The High Court reduced the accused’s jail term from seven years to three years.
The High Court passed the order and underlined that the accused had no intention of murdering the victim and that the injury was caused in a fight.
“There was a quarrel between the accused and the complainant. During that, the accused chose to squeeze the testicles. Therefore, it cannot be said that the accused came with an intention or with preparation to commit murder. If at all he had prepared or attempted to commit murder, he would have brought some deadly weapons to commit the murder,” the Karnataka High Court observed.
The court further said that though the injury may have led to the victim’s death, it was not the intention. Echoing the trial court’s order, the High Court stated that the accused did cause grievous hurt to the victim.
“Though he chose the testicles, which are a vital part of the body, and the injured had to undergo surgery to remove them, it is a grievous hurt. Therefore, I am of the view, it cannot be said that the accused, with any intention or preparation, attempted to commit murder. The injury caused by the accused could be brought under Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code – causing grievous injury by squeezing the private part which is a vital part of the body,” Justice K Natarajan said in his recent judgement.
As per the complaint, the victims and others were dancing at the ‘Narasimhaswamy’ procession in a village fair when the accused – Parameshwarappa – came on a motorcycle and picked up a fight. The incident happened in 2010 and the trial court’s conviction came in 2012.
During the fight, the accused squeezed the testicles of the victim, leading to his death during treatment. The police launched a probe based on the complaint and the trial began.
Subsequently, through the NV Power of Attorney the accused, a resident of the Chikkamagaluru district, was convicted and sentenced. He then approached the High Court and appealed against his conviction. He challenged the trial court’s order and pleaded not guilty to “attempt to murder”.
As per the trial court order, the accused was sentenced to seven years in jail under Section 307 (attempt to murder), one month in jail under Section 341 (wrongful restraint) and one year in jail under Section 504 (insult to provoke) of the Indian Penal Code.