MADAN LATKAN PATIL vs STATE OF MAHARASHTRA — Crl.A. No. 278/2006

Case Summary: Madan Latkan Patil v. State of Maharashtra Outcome: The Supreme Court partly allowed the appeal on 15 November 2006. The conviction under Section 302 IPC (murder) was set aside and replaced with Section 304 Part II IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). The sentence was reduced from life imprisonment to rigorous imprisonment for five years, with the fine maintained. Key Facts: Madan Latkan Patil, an autorickshaw driver, stabbed another driver Jagdish following a dispute over passenger pickups at Dhule bus stand on 14-15 October 1992, causing fatal injuries including severing of the femoral artery. Reasoning: Following *Laxman Kalu Nikalje v. State of Maharashtra*, the Court found the appellant intended only to wound the thigh, not to cut the femoral artery specifically. Since the fatal injury resulted from an unintended consequence, the case fell under culpable homicide rather than murder. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.