Kerala High Court: Stone Can Be Considered a Deadly Weapon Based on Its Size, Shape, and How It's Used

In Vinil v State of Kerala, the Kerala High Court ruled that a stone could be considered a weapon likely to cause death under Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), depending on its size, shape, and how it was used to cause injury.

Section 324 of the IPC provides for punishment for voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon or instrument that could potentially cause death. In this case, the petitioner, accused of throwing a stone at the complainant and causing a minor injury (abrasion) on her hand, had approached the Court to quash the FIR and final report filed against him. He was charged under Sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon), 294(b) (obscene acts), and 506(i) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. The petitioner argued that a dispute between him and the complainant, who were neighbors, led to both of them filing cases against each other. He pointed out that the Court had already reduced the charges against the complainant in a related case.

However, the Court refused to quash the FIR and the final report against the petitioner. It emphasized that whether a stone could be considered a dangerous weapon would depend on factors such as its size, sharpness, and the manner of use. The Court referred to previous cases where these factors were critical in determining whether an object was a dangerous weapon.

The Court concluded that it couldn't dismiss the charges under Section 324 IPC without considering the evidence. It stressed that these issues should be decided during the trial, not before.