Offence Under Section 324 IPC Not A Minor Offence Of Section 332 IPC, Conviction Without Specific Charge Unsustainable: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that an accused cannot be convicted under Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the absence of a specific charge when the original charge was under Section 332 IPC, as Section 324 is not a “minor offence” of Section 332 within the meaning of Section 222 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The ruling came in Babu Avarachan v. State of Kerala, decided by Justice Jobin Sebastian.

The case arose from a 2005 incident in which a police constable alleged that he was assaulted by employees of a private bus after questioning the driver for overspeeding. According to the prosecution, the first accused stabbed the constable on the neck with a screwdriver while the other accused physically assaulted him. Although the accused were originally charged under Sections 294(b) and 332 read with Section 34 IPC, the trial court acquitted them of those offences but convicted the first accused under Section 324 IPC. The conviction was later affirmed in appeal.

Examining the legality of that conviction, the High Court observed that Section 324 IPC contains an additional and distinct ingredient causing hurt by a dangerous weapon which is not inherently included in Section 332 IPC. Since both offences carry the same maximum punishment of three years’ imprisonment, Section 324 cannot be treated as a lesser or minor offence of Section 332 under Section 222 CrPC.

However, the Court found that the evidence of the injured police constable, supported by medical records, clearly established the offence of voluntarily causing simple hurt under Section 323 IPC. Accordingly, the Court set aside the conviction under Section 324 IPC and instead convicted the accused under Section 323 IPC, sentencing him to imprisonment till the rising of the court and a fine of ₹1,000.