Sentence/Sentencing:
Conviction u/ss. 353, 504 and 294 r/w s. 34 IPC by courts below – Sentence of 3 months R1 and fine of Rs. 800/- imposed – On appeal, plea of accused to reduce the sentence – Held: In view of the facts that imprisonment of one month was already undergone, that incident occurred on spur of moments, that accused had no criminal antecedent, that the incident was quite old and that the accused was not required in any other criminal case, sentence is reduced to the period already undergone – Instead fine amount is enhanced to Rs. 15000/- from Rs. 800/- – Penal Code, 1860 – ss. 353/34, 504/34 and 294/34.
Partly allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1. Taking into account that the appellant has already undergone one month’s jail sentence out of three months awarded to him; the fact that the incident in question is quite old and seems to have occurred at the spur of the moment, the appellant has no criminal antecedent in his past life and that he is not required in any other criminal case except the one in question which the appellant fairly did not deny having committed and rightly did not challenge his conviction, it is considered to be just and proper to alter the jail sentence awarded to the appellant from three months to the extent of period of one month which was already undergone by him and instead enhance the total fine amount awarded under different Sections from Rs.800/- to Rs.15,000/-. [Para 14] [625-C-E]
2. Failure to deposit the fine amount within one month would result in reviving the jail sentence awarded by the Courts below and the appellant will have to then undergo the remaining jail sentence awarded by the Courts below. [Para 17] [625-G-H]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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