Bhavnagar Murder Case: Gujarat High Court Changes Verdict, Orders Son’s Release After 11 Years
Son accused in mother’s murder case gets relief as HC rules incident was a sudden quarrel, not a premeditated killing under IPC provisions.
Published : March 31, 2026 at 5:25 PM IST
Ahmedabad: In a significant legal development in a case involving the murder of his own mother in Bhavnagar, the Gujarat High Court has granted major relief to the accused son, overturning an earlier conviction.
In 2016, the Bhavnagar Sessions Court had convicted the accused under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302 (murder) and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
However, the High Court has now modified the verdict, stating that the case does not amount to “murder” but was the result of a sudden altercation.
The court observed that there was no premeditated intent on the part of the accused to kill his mother. Based on this, the offence has been reclassified under IPC Section 304 (Part I), which deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Case Details
According to case details, the accused and his 60-year-old mother had an argument over tea and household chores. As the dispute escalated, the youth lost his temper and attacked his mother on the head with a knife, which was found at the scene. She later died in the hospital due to severe injuries.
One of the most notable aspects of the case was that the accused’s father had filed the complaint against his own son. He had also stated that he saw the accused fleeing the scene with some documents after the incident. There were eyewitnesses in the case, on the basis of which the Sessions Court had convicted the accused.
The Sessions Court had sentenced the accused to life imprisonment based on the testimonies of 15 witnesses and 25 pieces of evidence. It had also noted that the accused had an aggressive and quarrelsome nature, making the offence more serious.
Post-Mortem Report
According to the postmortem report, the woman died due to shock and haemorrhage caused by the injuries. However, the High Court noted that the incident was not pre-planned, the weapon was picked up from the spot and no prior enmity between the accused and the victim could be established.
Therefore, the court held that the case falls under “culpable homicide” under Section 304 (Part I) of the IPC, which carries a maximum punishment of up to 10 years.
The accused has already spent more than 11 years in jail. Accordingly, the court has ordered his release, provided no other case is pending against him. Counsel for the petitioner, P V Pataliya, argued that the incident was the result of a sudden quarrel and lacked any premeditation. The High Court accepted this argument while granting relief to the accused.
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