The Delhi High Court delivered a significant ruling on vicarious criminal liability, holding that an individual’s mere physical presence alongside a co-accused who carried a knife does not justify a murder conviction under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code without evidence of a shared intention to kill. A division bench comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan modified the conviction of an appellant in Abhishek Sharma v. State (NCT of Delhi), concluding that the prosecution failed to prove an overt act or common premeditated intent to inflict fatal wounds.
The high court observed that to establish vicarious liability under Section 34, the prosecution must demonstrate a prior meeting of minds and coordinated physical action directed toward achieving the criminal objective. While the co-accused had unexpectedly drawn a concealed knife and inflicted fatal injuries during a sudden scuffle, the appellant had not engaged in assault or attempted to prevent bystanders from intervening. The division bench accordingly altered the appellant’s conviction to a lesser offense and ordered his release, reinforcing strict standards of proof in joint-liability criminal prosecutions.
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Sources:
https://www.verdictum.in/delhi-high-court/abhishek-sharma-v-the-state-nct-of-delhi-2026dhc9511-db-1624890