Delhi High Court Reduces Sentence in 2014 Shooting Case

The Delhi High Court has reduced the life sentence of a man named Rahul to eight years in prison. This decision came after changing the charge from murder to culpable homicide in a case involving an accidental shooting in December 2014. The incident led to the death of Mohd Mumtaz, a mechanic in Ajeet Nagar, Seelampur. An FIR was filed on December 16, 2014, and Rahul was arrested on December 21, 2014.

Initially, Rahul was convicted by the Karkardooma Court on July 25, 2022, for murder, attempted murder, and violations of the Arms Act. He was sentenced on September 2, 2022. However, he appealed against these decisions. A division bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma reviewed the case and found that the prosecution could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the case met the criteria for murder under Section 300 of the IPC.

The court decided that the case fell under Part II of Section 304 of the IPC, which pertains to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. As a result, the court modified Rahul's conviction from murder to culpable homicide. Additionally, the charge of attempted murder was changed to attempting to cause culpable homicide under Section 308 of the IPC.

The court noted that Rahul had already served approximately five years in prison, including time reduced for good behavior. At the time of sentencing, Rahul was 30 years old, with a wife and a 3-year-old daughter, and was expecting another child. The court sentenced him to eight years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 15,000. For the other charges, he was sentenced to time already served and additional fines.