The Karnataka High Court has recently held that holding and pressing the testicles of another person by one person during a fight cannot amount to attempt to murder. Disagreeing with the lower court order in which pressing of testicles was considered as an attempt to murder and sentencing the accused to 7 years, the High Court modified it, reducing the sentence of the accused from 7 years to 3 years. According to the complaint filed in the case, a person named Omkarappa was dancing in front of the idol of Narasimhaswamy deity in a religious procession along with other people of the village. Then a person named Parameshwarappa came there and started abusing Omkarappa. When Omkarappa protested, Parameshwarappa started fighting with him, during this fight he held Omkarappa's testicles and pressed them. After which Omkarappa had to be admitted to the hospital, where after surgery, the doctors cut and separated Omkarappa's testicles. The victim Omkarappa complained to the police, after which a case was launched against the accused Parameshwarappa.The lower court sentenced the accused to 7 years imprisonment after holding him guilty of attempt to murder. Against this decision of the lower court, the accused filed an appeal in the High Court. Justice K Natarajan's bench while hearing the appeal said that In the incident, there was a fight between the complainant and the accused, during this fight, the accused pressed the testicle of the complainant. Such an act was done by the accused suddenly during the quarrel, it cannot be said that the accused had come with the intention of killing. If the accused had come with the intention of killing, he would have come after preparation. Had the intention of the accused to commit murder, he would have brought with him any deadly weapon, therefore pressing the testicles of the complainant by the accused cannot amount to attempt to murder. The court observed that the accused had come to the place of quarrel without any plan and was not even carrying any deadly weapon to commit the offense of murder or attempt to murder. The court observed that this is a case where the accused has caused grievous hurt in the course of assault without the use of any deadly weapon. Therefore, this act of the accused comes under the category of causing grievous hurt under section 325 of IPC. After coming to the conclusion that the accused has committed the offense under Section 325 IPC, the court reduced the sentence awarded to the accused by the trial court under Section 307 IPC from 7 years to 3 years.
