Penal Code, 1860 – ss.323, 324 and 325 r/w. s.34 – Constitution of India – Art.142 – Incident between relatives – Conviction under non-compoundable offences set aside:
Held: On perusal of affidavits filed, this Court found that since the appellants are the cousin of respondents no.2 and 3 and have tendered an unconditional apology regarding the incident, these respondents have agreed to compound the offence – A similar stand has been taken by respondent no. 4, who is the uncle of the appellants – As far as Sections 323 and 325 of the IPC are concerned, offences under these provisions are compoundable but the offence under Section 324 of the IPC is a non-compoundable offence – In a series of cases, considering that the incident occurred between relatives and the incident is of such a nature which did not have much impact on society, this Court had set aside the conviction by invoking its power under Article 142 of the Constitution in matters involving non-compoundable offences – However, this is to be done only in exceptional cases after considering various factors including the nature of injuries, relation between parties and the impact of crime on society, etc – In instant case, the incident occurred on 20.05.2011 relating to a minor issue where respondent no.2 was trying to tie bullocks to which the appellants objected by saying that it was their land – As is clear from the compromise, the appellants and complainant side are close relatives and after settling their disputes, both sides have agreed to maintain peace and harmony in the society – Taking all of this into account, the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution are invoked and the conviction of appellants in the present case are set aside. [Paras 4, 5, 6, 7]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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