Man, first accused of murder, gets 2 years RI for culpable homicide; 3 months for aides in Tumakuru district

BENGALURU: A sessions court in Tiptur, Tumakuru district, convicted three men - hauled up for allegedly murdering a farmer in 2012 - on lesser counts. The main accused, V Virendra Patil, 49, has been convicted under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years.
His two accomplices - V Jagadeesha, 55, and his son J Yashvanta, 35 - have been convicted under section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and sentenced to three months of rigorous imprisonment.
The trio had initially been booked under IPC section 302 (murder). Pushpavati V, the fifth additional district and sessions judge from Tiptur, passed the conviction orders on Monday.
According to the chargesheet filed by police, the three had attacked S Umesh, 38, also a farmer from Venkatapura, in the morning of July 12, 2012. Patil had rammed his car into Umesh's motorbike. The trio was accused of attacking Umesh with a sickle and a wooden log when he fell. A seriously injured Umesh was shifted to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, where he died on July 21, 2012.
Public prosecutor Mahadev Gadad said police charged the accused mainly under IPC section 302 in 2012. The following year, the accused approached the high court against this. In 2014, the court directed the sessions court to consider the relevant sections other than 302 as it found that the man hadn't sustained sickle injuries and had died of kicks to his testicles.
The sessions court changed the section from 302 to 304. It then discharged the accused altogether, citing non-availability of medical records. Gadad said the state appealed to the high court against the discharge. The discharge orders were set aside.
The accused again approached the high court, seeking quashing of the case under IPC section 304. In July 2022, the high court expressed dismay over the petition and dismissed it. "It will be highly appreciated if the sessions court proceeds and concludes the trial and disposes of the case... within five months," the court observed.