The Supreme Court observed that when an accused resorts to physical violence without any quarrel or reciprocal aggression from the deceased, the exception of culpable homicide not amounting to murder cannot be invoked to seek a reduced sentence.

In the present case, the appellant had delivered a knife blow to an unarmed victim and sought the benefit of lesser punishment under Exceptions 2 and 4 to Section 300 IPC. While Exception 2 applies where the accused acts in self-defense, Exception 4 covers situations involving premeditation, a sudden fight, an act committed in the heat of passion, or conduct that is neither cruel nor unusual.

The Bench of Justice Manoj Misra and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan held that Exception 2 cannot be invoked as there was no act of self-defence by the Appellant a

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