The criminal appeal was filed by the accused, aggrieved by the judgment of conviction and sentence also the judgment in a criminal appeal, passed by the High Court of Kerala.
Brief Facts of the Case
The appellants/accused A1 to A3 were tried for offences punishable u/s 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) r/w Section 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC, 1860. After considering the oral and documentary evidence on record, learned Sessions Judge by judgment convicted them for the aforesaid offenses. They were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 5 yrs and also to pay a fine of Rs. 5000/- each, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for two years each. The fine amount was ordered to be paid to PW-1, as compensation. No separate sentence is awarded for the offence under Section 324 IPC. Aggrieved by the conviction, the accused filed the appeal before the HC at Kerala. The HC affirmed the conviction and revised the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for a period of 3 yrs and to pay a compensation of Rs.25,000/- for the offence u/s 326, 308 r/w Section 34 IPC and in default to undergo simple imprisonment for 2 yrs.
Arguments Before the Court
The Counsel for the appellants had submitted that he confined his submissions for appellant no. 3 only as appellant nos.1 and 2 had already served the said sentence. It was submitted that though there was not sufficient evidence to prove the guilt of the accused, for the offense alleged, the Trial Court had convicted the appellants & imposed a sentence. It was also submitted that there was no light at the place of occurrence and they were apprehended after 10 months of the incident.
Observation of the Court
The Court observed that after considering all of the facts and circumstances of the case, the court found that it’s a fit case to modify the sentence & reduce the compensation of Rs.25,000/. Therefore, the court reduces the sentence imposed on the 3rd appellant, for the period already undergone and reduced the compensation to Rs.5,000.
The Decision of the Court
The Supreme Court partly allowed the appeal and directed that so far as appellant No.3 is concerned, to the extent indicated above and the conviction recorded and sentence imposed by the High Court, stands modified accordingly.
Libertatem.in is now on Telegram. Follow us for regular legal updates and judgment from courts. Follow us on Google News, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter. You can subscribe to our Weekly Email Updates. You can also contribute stories like this and help us spread awareness for a better society. Submit Your Post Now.
