The Assam government has challenged the Gauhati High Court’s decision to convert the murder conviction to culpable homicide and reduce the death sentence to life imprisonment
Guwahati: The Supreme Court has issued notices to respondents on a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Assam government challenging the Gauhati High Court verdict in the Deben Dutta murder case.
The apex court also condoned the delay in filing the petition, allowing the state’s challenge to proceed. The respondents have been granted four weeks to file their replies.
The Assam government challenged the High Court judgment delivered on July 30, 2025, which altered the conviction from murder under Section 302 of the IPC to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II. The court also reduced the punishment from death to life imprisonment.
The state has argued that Dutta’s death resulted from a deliberate and coordinated assault, rather than an accidental incident. A legal team led by Senior Additional Advocate General Chinmoy Sharma appeared for the Assam government.
Dutta, a retired medical professional who volunteered at Teok Tea Estate hospital in Jorhat, was brutally attacked by plantation workers in August 2019. His death triggered widespread protests across Assam. The case will proceed after the respondents submit their replies.
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