The present case revolves around an incident where an attempt was made by the accused to kill the victim, an 18-year-old boy, Arjit Sharma. The complainant was picked up from his guest house by the two accused, i.e., Neeraj Sharma and Ashwani Kumar Yadav, and the three took off on their motorcycle to a place called “Doundilohara.” Pertinently, the accused, Neeraj Sharma, and the complainant knew each other. During the night, the two accused attempted to kill the complainant by throttling his neck by the clutch wire of the motorcycle. As a result, the complainant fell on the ground unconscious, and the accused, thinking that the complainant had died, poured petrol on his body and set him on fire. Before setting the victim's body on fire, the accused also looted a certain amount of sum and his phone. However, the complainant managed to escape and was taken to hospital. The Trial Court convicted the accused persons for attempts to murder, robbery, and kidnapping for ransom. The High Court upheld these charges. Against this backdrop, the present appeal was preferred.

Whether an offence under Section 364A of IPC is made out?

The Court opined that “However, in order to come under the ambit of Section 364A, something more than abduction is required, which is demand of ransom. We do not find that there was a demand of ransom as alleged by the prosecution. There is no worthwhile evidence placed by the prosecution in this regard.”

After considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the Court set aside the conviction of accused persons and directed State of Chhattisgarh to pay Rs.5,00,000/- to the victim instead of Rs.1,00,000/-.