Lucknow, May 7 -- : In a significant decision on a jail appeal, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has clarified that a sudden quarrel between husband and wife does not constitute murder. With this observation, the court commuted the sentence of a husband convicted of murder (Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code) to one of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code).

A division bench of Justice Rajnish Kumar and Justice Zafeer Ahmed delivered this decision on May 4 while partially allowing the jail appeal filed by the husband, who was serving a life sentence for murdering his wife. The court clarified that since the incident occurred in the heat of the moment during a sudden quarrel...