Court caseAIR 1955 SC 216

Ramchander Shelke was attacked in a field by five men, including Pandurang, Tukia and Bhilia, who struck him with axes and sticks; he died of his injuries. There was an old enmity, but the evidence did not show that the accused had planned the attack together: some came from different directions and the prosecution could not prove a prior concert. The sessions court convicted the three of murder under s. 302 read with s. 34 IPC and the High Court confirmed; they appealed to the Supreme Court.

Vivian Bose J held that s. 34 requires a pre-arranged plan: a criminal act done in furtherance of a common intention presupposes a prior meeting of minds, though the plan may be formed a moment before the act. Several persons who attack a victim at the same time, each with his own intention, have the same or similar intention, not a common one, and each is liable only for what he did himself. As no common intention to kill was proved against Pandurang, his conviction for murder was set aside and he was convicted under s. 326 for the grievous hurt he caused; the convictions of Tukia and Bhilia, whose blows caused death, were maintained.