Som Dutt & Ors. vs The State of Himachal Pradesh

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

4 April 2022

Case No.

Criminal Appeal No. 549 of 2022

Result

Partly allowed

Bench

Sanjiv Khanna, Bela M. Trivedi

Citation

[2022] 3 S.C.R. 1 : 2022 INSC 385

Headnote

Probation – Release on probation – Appellants convicted by three courts below u/s.379 r/w s.34 IPC and sentenced to 3 months SI – Revision filed before High Court – Dismissed – Challenge to – Held: No interference warranted with concurrent findings of facts recorded by the courts below – However, appellants granted benefit of release on probation of good conduct u/s.361 CrPC r/w ss.3 and

4 of the Probation of Offenders Act having regard to the sentence imposed by courts below, and as the appellants had no criminal antecedents, and the Respondent (State) filed no objection to this – Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 – ss.3 and 4 – Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – ss. 360 and 361 – IPC – s.379 r/w s.34.

Partly allowing the appeals, the Court

HELD: Section 3 and 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act empower the courts to release the offenders on probation of good conduct in the cases and circumstances mentioned therein. Similarly, Sections 360 and 361 of the Cr.P.C also empower the courts to release the offenders on probation of good conduct in the cases and circumstances mentioned therein. Hence, having regard to sentence imposed by the courts below on the appellants for the offence under Section 379 read with Section 34 of IPC, and having regard to the fact there are no criminal antecedents against the appellants, the court is inclined to give them the benefit of releasing them on probation of good conduct. In that view of the matter, while maintaining the conviction and sentence imposed on the appellants, it is directed that the appellants shall be released on probation of good conduct, on each of the appellants furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 25,000/- with surety of the like amount, and on further furnishing an undertaking to keep the peace and good behaviour for a period of three years, to the satisfaction of the concerned trial court. [Para 6][3-F-H; 4-A-B]

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BELA M. TRIVEDI, J. 1. Special leave is granted. 2. The appellants (original accused) have assailed the order dated 06.08.2021 passed by the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla in the Criminal Revision Petition No. 149 of 2012 filed by the appellants, dismissing the same. 3. The appellants – accused were convicted by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Karsog, District Mandi Himachal Pradesh for the offence under Section 379 read with Section 34 of IPC in the Criminal Case No. 381 of 2009, and were directed to undergo simple imprisonment for a

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