Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: The Assam government is fighting back. State lawyers moved the Supreme Court to challenge a July 30, 2025, Gauhati High Court verdict that downgraded the conviction in the Dr. Deben Dutta murder case. The state wants the original charges reinstated.
The High Court previously shifted the conviction from murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 Part II. This change slashed the punishment from death to life imprisonment. The state government disagrees with this leniency.
Senior Additional Advocate General Chinmoy Sharma led the state's legal team. They argued the assault on the retired medical professional was a coordinated attack, not a sudden or accidental incident. The state's filing maintains that the circumstances surrounding the death indicate a deliberate act.
Dr. Deben Dutta worked at the Teok Tea Estate hospital in Jorhat. Plantation workers brutally attacked him in August 2019. His death sparked mass protests across Assam. The gravity of the case led to significant public concern.
The Supreme Court heard the Special Leave Petition and condoned the state's filing delay. The court issued notices to the respondents. They have four weeks to file their replies. The matter moves to the next hearing stage once those responses arrive. As the state argues, the violence was a "deliberate and coordinated assault rather than an accidental or sudden incident."
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