Criminal Appeal No 477 of 1978
From the Judgment and Order dated 23111977 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Criminal Revision No 880 of 1976
WITH Criminal Appeal No 288 of 1989
From the Judgment and Order dated 2311
1977 of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Crl
A No 670 of 1976
SK Bisaria and JK Nayyar for the Appellant in Crl
Appeal No 477 of 1978
RC Kohli and RS Suri for the Appellant in Criminal Appeal No 288 of 1989
SK Mehta Dhuru Mehta and Atul Handa for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by NATARAJAN J
Appeal No 477 of 1978 by Special Leave and Appeal No 288 of 1989 by Special Leave arising out of Special Leave Crl Petition No 250 of 1980 are directed against a judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in Criminal Appeal No 670 of 1976 616 whereunder a learned single Judge of the High Court had set aside the conviction of respondent Prem Chand and acquitted him of the charge under Section 306 IPC
The former appeal has been filed by the father of the deceased Veena Rani while the latter appeal has been filed by the State of Punjab
The facts of the case are in brief as under Deceased Veena Rani who died of burn injuries on 159
1975 was married to the respondent Prem Chand hereinafter referred to as accused in the year 1973
Veena Rani who had passed the MA and B Ed
degree examinations was employed in the State Bank of Patiala and was earning about Rs 600 to 700 per month
The accused who had obtained a degree in law was a prosecuting Sub Inspector and soon after marriage he resigned his job and set up practice in his native place Sangrur
When the accused resigned his job and set up practice in Sangrut Veena Rani obtained a transfer to Sangrur from Patiala and the couple set up house in a building owned by PW 5 Krishan Dutt
From the very beginning Veena Rani had an unhappy married life because of the ac cused constantly demanding her to get more money from her parent s house
Even though the accused had joined the office of a senior advocate by name Shri OP Singhal his earnings were meager and consequently the house hold ex penses were borne by her from out of her salary
Besides tormenting Veena Rani to get more money from her parents the accused was also given to beating her frequently
Veena Rani complained to her parents brother and brother in law about the cruel treatment meted out to her by the accused
PW 4 Shanti Devi and PW 14 Khem Chand the mother and broth er respectively of Veena Rani and PW 17 Kuldip Rai her brother in law have deposed about Veena Rani telling them about the accused iII treating her and physically assaulting her
Apart from them PW 5 Krishan Dutt the landlord has also testified that the accused was in the habit of beating Veena Rani and that on hearing her cries he used to inter vene and advise the accused to stop beating her
Since the accused did not mend his ways and continued his beatings of Veena Rani
PW 5 Krishan Dutt asked the accused to vacate his house
Veena Rani conceived and gave birth to a male child
But even after the child birth the accused did not stop iII treating her
Unable to bear the iII treatment Veena Rani took leave on loss of pay and went away to her parent s house at Patiala
The separation had no effect on the ac cused and hence Veena Rani filed an application under Sec tion 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act in the Court at Patiala for restitution of conjugal rights
As a counter move the accused also filed a 617 similar petition in the Court at Sangrur
However the enquiry of that petition was stayed by the Senior Sub Judge Sangfur till the disposal of the earlier petition filed by Veena Rani at Patiala
At that stage of matters Shri OP Singhal who was acting as the counsel for the accused and PW 9 Shri Hari Om another advocate at Sangrut who was appearing for Veena Rani brought about a compromise between the parties and in terms thereof Veena Rani came back to Sangrur to live with the accused
The re union however took place only after the accused s counsel Shri OP Sing hal had personally assured that their would be no danger to Veena Rani s life at the hands of the accused
This time the parties set up residence in a house belonging to PW 12 Nathu Ram
Nothing changed however because the accused started tormenting Veena Rani almost from the day of re union for money and continued beating her
PW 12 Nathu Ram was a witness to the accused quarrel ling with Veena Rani and beating her
The immediate provoca tion for the accused stepping up his iII treatment of Veena Rani was his purchase of a scooter for Rs3500 from one AN Jindal
The accused was able to obtain only Rs2500 from his father for buying the scooter and for the balance amount of Rs 1000 he asked Veena Rani to get tile same from her parents
Veena Rani had no funds of her own because she had been on leave on loss of pay for several months and had joined duty at the Bank only on 1381975
She was in a fix and therefore she wrote a letter on 10975 to her brother PW 14 Khem Chand as under Dear brother the day I came here he is asking for Rs one thousand from the same day to repay the loan of the scooter
He does not pay any expenses which are required by me
Because I will receive my pay only on 26th September and all things are as they were before
 Again just one day before her death ie 1491975 she wrote to her mother PW 4 Shanti Devi a pathetic letter as follows Yesterday I was to come to see Saroj in the evening but there is a quarrel in the house
I have no money if I have any require ment I must fulfil myself otherwise no alter native than to go on weeping and crying
Because he is saying that I am to repay the loan of Rs 1000 and I am to pay Rs 100 for the house rent
Dear mother you know it very well that I have not received my pay
It is therefore I am unable to pay anything for the household expenses
It is therefore I am in a very bad condition at my house
I do not understand what to do
Whenever I talk to go to any 618 place the same day there is an uproar in the house and he does not turn up till 1200 in the night and unhealthy atmosphere develops in the house
Dear mother please send me Rs 1000 immediately through Bhupinder
Dear mother I am very sad on this account and unhappy
The whole day I remain weaping
Manish the child is alright
You do not worry but please send me Rs 1000 immediate ly
 In spite of Veena Rani writing to her brother and mother for a sum of Rs 1000 being sent immediately the accused did not relent in his insistence for immediate compliance of his demand
This led to a quarrel between the husband and wife on the 15th morning and thereupon both of them went to the house of PW 9 Shri Hari Om at 630 am itself
After PW 9 Shri Hari Om woke up he made enquiries and Veena Rani told him that the accused was demanding money from her and annoying her on that account in spite of her telling him that she had written letters to her brother and mother
He advised the accused not to torment Veena Rani for money but in spite of it the accused said he wanted immediate payment of the sum of Rs 1000
The accused went to the extent of saying that Veena Rani can go to hell but he should get his sum of Rs 1000 forthwith
Veena Rani reacted by saying that because of the accused quarrelling with her every day over the payment of money she preferred death to life in this world
The accused far from express ing regret for his conduct drove her to despair by further saying that she can provide him relief quicker by dying on the very same day and that she need not postpone her death to the next day
PW 9 Shri Hari Om then sent the parties home saying that the matter can be talked over in the evening
After things had gone to such a pitch the accused and Veena Rani left the house of PW 9 Hari Om at about 900 am and went back to their house
After leaving Veena Rani in the house the accused went to the Court
At about 1015 am PW 12 Nathu Ram was informed by one Keemat Rai advo cate that shrieks were heard coming from the house occupied by the accused and Veena Rani
Both of them rushed to the house and saw Veena Rani lying on the ground with extensive burn injuries on her body
At once PW 12 Nathu Ram rushed on his bicycle to the Court and informed the accused and 11 DK Jindal about Veena Rani having sustained burn injuries Thereupon all of them came to the house and the accused with the help of PW 11 DK Jindal removed Veena Rani to the Civil Hospital at Sangrut
FW 9 Hari Om on coming to know of Veena Rani having 619 sustained burn injuries had information sent to PW 17 Kuldip Rai and also made arrangements for a phone message being given to the parents of Veena Rani at Patiala
There after he went to the hospital but by then Veena Rani had died
Veena Rani was seen by Dr BR Dular at the hospital at 1045 am and the doctor found her to have sustained severe burns and to be in a state of shock
Veena Rani who was given treatment by PW 19 Dr JK Sharma told him that she had been tortured at home and that she wanted to die as early as possible
At 1130 am Veena Rani died
At the autopsy it was noticed that she had sustained 19 burn injuries
Her death was certified to be due to shock result ing from the burn injuries
On receipt of an intimation from the hospital entries were made in the general diary and subsequently a case was registered on the basis of representations made to PW 18 the Deputy Superintendent of Police by PW 16 Kuldip Rai and another relation
Investigation of the case resulted in a chargesheet being laid against the accused under Section 306 IPC
In his statement under Section 313 Cr
PC the accused denied having iII treated Veena Rani but admitted that he had asked her to give him a sum of Rs 1000 for payment of the balance money for the scooter purchased by him
He however stated that he had offered to repay the amount as soon as he received his GPF amount
He denied having told Veena Rani at the house of PW 9 Shri Hari Om that she may go to hell and that she can put at an end to her life the same day without waiting for the morrow
He has also stated that Veena Rani was of an irritable nature and would get agitated for no reason whatever
Lastly he has stated that on coming to know of her having sustained burn in juries he had rushed home and taken her to the hospital to save her life but unfortunately she could not be saved
After a detailed consideration of the prosecution evi dence and the statement of the accused the Additional Sessions Judge Sangrur found the accused guilty under Section 306 IPC and sentenced him undergo RI for four years
The learned Addl
Sessions Judge held that the ac cused had been tormenting and also physically assaulting Veena Rani and that Veena Rani had committed suicide by reason of the accused s instigation
The accused preferred an appeal to the High Court and a learned 620 single judge of the High Court has acquitted the accused holding that even though Veena Rani had committed suicide on account of her unhappy married life there is nothing on the record to show that the appellant in any manner instigated the deceased to commit suicide
 Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court the father of Veena  Rani and the State have preferred the two appeals under consideration
Shri RS Suri learned counsel for the State and Mr SK Bisaria learned counsel for the father of Veena Rani took us through the evidence in the case and the judgments of the Addl
Sessions Judge and the High Court and argued that the High Court has completely erred in its appreciation of the evidence and in its application of the law and there fore the appeals should be allowed and the conviction and sentence awarded to the accused should be restored
Shri SK Mehta learned counsel for the accused contended that even if the prosecution evidence is accepted in full there is no material to show that the suicidal death of Veena Rani was abetted in any manner by the accused and hence the judgment of the High Court does not call for any interfer ence
We have considered the evidence and the arguments of the counsel in great detail
The evidence brings out with tell ing effect the distressed life that Veena Rani was leading almost from the day of her marriage with the accused
Since the accused had resigned his job and set up practice as an advocate at Sangrur she got herself transferred from Patia la to a branch of the Bank at Sangrur
The parties lived as tenants in a portion of the house of PW 5 Krishan Dutt and Veena Rani was meeting the household expenses from out of her salary because the accused had no income as a lawyer
In spite of Veena Rani spending her entire salary on the house hold the accused was constantly demanding her for money and made her life miserable by frequently beating her
These matters have been spoken to by PW 4 Shanti Devi PW 14 Khem Chand and PW 17 Kuldip Rai
Besides them independent wit nesses viz
PW 5 Krishan Dutt PW 9 Shri Hari Om and PW 12 Nathu Ram have also spoken about the iII treatment of Veena Rani and their evidence has gone unchallenged
There is thus overwhelming evidence in the case to establish that Veena Rani s life was made intolerable by the accused by constant ly demanding her to get him money and also beating her frequently
Before considering the question whether the accused had abetted Veena Rani in her committing suicide we must point out that 621 Veena Rani s death was undoubtedly due to suicide and not due to any accident or homicide
When Veena Rani had set fire to herself no one else except her one and half year old son was in the house
Hearing her shouts PW 12 Nathu Ram and Keemet Rai rushed to the house and found her lying on the ground with burn injuries
The accused was at once informed in the court and he removed her to the hospital along with others
Despite treatment she succumbed to her injuries by about 1130 am
The autopsy revealed that her death was due to severe shock resulting from the burn injuries sustained by her
In such circumstance the suicidal death of Veena Rani is an incontrovertible factor
The crucial question for consideration is whether Veena Rani put an end to her life of her own will and volition or whether her committing suicide had been abetted in any manner by the accused
To determine this question we must see the plight of Veena Rani during the few days preceding her death and the events which had taken place on the morning of 15975 itself
It is an admitted fact that the accused was wanting a sum of Rs 1000 for paying the balance of sale price for the scooter purchased by him and that he was demanding Veena Rani to get him the amount from her parents
The accused has himself admitted in his statement under Section 313 Cr
PC this fact but has stated that he wanted it only as a loan and not as a gift
Besides the letter annexure 3 written by Veena Rani to her brother and mother respectively throw considerable light on the matter
In the letter to the brother dated 10975 Veena Rani has stated that even on the day she came to Sangrur the accused began demanding a sum of Rs 1000 for being paid for the scooter purchased by him
The accused would not wait and hence she had again to write a letter to her mother on 14975
Therein she has stated that she was in a very bad condition and that her mother should send her Rs 1000 immediately
These two letters written in quick succession reveal fully the amount of pressure the accused must have been applying on Veena Rani to get him a sum of Rs 1000
So constant should have been his demand for money that on the morning of 15 9 75 even at about 630 or 7 am the accused and Veena Rani had to go to the house of PW 9 Shri Hari Om to seek a solution
Even in front of PW 9 Shri Hari Om the accused had insisted that Veena Rani should get him a sum of Rs 1000 forthwith
When Veena Rani pleaded inability to make immediate payment the accused told her that he did not care even if she went to hell but he wanted immediate payment
When Veena Rani stated in despair that she had enough of torment and that she preferred death to living the 622 accused added fuel to fire by saying that she may put an end to her life the very same day and she need not wait till the next day to quit this world
Such an utterance by the ac cused would have certainly been seen by Veena Rani as an
instigation to her to commit suicide
Otherwise she would not have set fire to herself within a short time after she reached home
One significant factor to be noticed is that but for being spurred to action Veena Rani would not have easily reconciled herself to forsaking her one and a half year old son and commit suicide
No mother however dis tressed and frustrated
would easily make up her mind to leave her young child in the lurch and commit suicide unless she had been goaded to do so by someone close to her
Yet another factor to be borne in mind is that there is no evidence as to what transpired between the accused and Veena Rani after they had left the house of PW 9 Shri Hari Om
The only two persons who could speak about it are the accused and Veena Rani and since she is dead it is only the accused who can throw some light on the matter
Strangely enough the accused has not said anything about it in his statement under Section 313 Cr
PC He has not said a word that he had assuaged the wounded feelings of Veena Rani before he left for Court
His silence on this aspect of the matter would therefore mean that he had not changed his stand subsequently
We may now look to the relevant provisions of the law
Section 306 IPC under which the accused was charged reads as under 306 IPC
If any person commits suicide whoever abets the commission of such suicide shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine
 Section 107 IPC sets out as to what constitutes abetment
The Section reads as follows 107
A person abets the doing of a thing who First
Instigates any person to do that thing or Secondly
Engages with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy and in order to the doing of that thing or Thirdly
Intentionally aids by any act or illegal omission the doing of that thing
623 Explanation I A person who by wilful mis representation or by wilful concealment of a material fact which he is bound to disclose voluntarily causes or procures or attempts to cause or procure a thing to be done is said to instigate the doing of that thing
Illustration omitted Explanation Il Whoever either prior to or at the time of the commission of an act does anything in order to facilitate the commission of that act and thereby facilitates the commission thereof is said to aid the doing of that act
 The learned Additional Sessions Judge has in the course of his judgment observed that Explanation II to Section 107 IPC would also be attracted to the facts of the case
The relevant portion in the judgment reads as under Thus when the circumstances attending this case are read alongwith the aforesaid Explana tion No II given under Section 107 IPC it is clear that the accused prior to the commis sion of the suicide by Veena Rani had con stantly committed certain acts and that has facilitated the commission of suicide and thus he had aided in the committing of that said act by Veena Rani
 A few lines below the Sessions Judge has given his finding as under The question of abetment actually depends upon the nature of the act abetted and the manner in which the abetment was made
The offence of abetment is complete when the alleged abettor has instigated another to commit the offence
It is not necessary for the offence of abetment that the offence must be committed
It is only in the case of a person abetting an offence by intentionally aiding another to commit that offence and the uttering of hot words by the accused to his wife in the presence of Shri Hari Om PW 9 clearly indicates that the accused had abetted an act complained of From the portion extracted above it may be seen that though the Addl
Sessions Judge has observed that Explana tion II would have 624 relevance to the case he has in fact awarded conviction to the accused on the basis that the accused had instigated Veena Rani to commit suicide and had thereby abetted the commission of suicide by Veena Rani
Having regard to the evidence in the case there can be no doubt whatever that the Addl
Sessions Judge was perfect ly right in holding that the accused had instigated Veena Rani to commit suicide and therefore he would be guilty under Section 306 IPC A person can abet the commission of an offence in any one of the three ways set out in Section 107
The case of the accused would squarely fall under the first category viz instigating a person to do a thing
In such circumstances the need to invoke Explanation I1 does not arise
Mr Mehta contended that since Explanation II to Section 107 IPC has no application to the facts of the case and since the Addl
Sessions Judge has convicted the accused on the premise that Explanation H is attracted the High Court was right in setting aside the conviction of the accused
We are unable to accept this argument because the Addl
Sessions Judge though he has referred to Explanation II has actually found the accused guilty only on the ground he had abetted the commission of the offence by instigation
When the evidence is of so compulsive and telling a nature against the accused the High Court we regret to say has dealt with the matter in a somewhat superficial manner and acquitted the accused on the basis of imaginary premises
The High Court has failed to comprehend the evi dence in its full conspectus and instead it has whittled down the evidence by specious reasoning
To mention a few the High Court has failed to give due weight to the letter Veena Rani wrote to her brother on 1091975 merely because in the last line she has written in any way there is noth ing to worry
This time everything will be alright
 This one sentence in the letter cannot efface the frantic nature of Veena Rani s appeal for money to satisfy the demand of the accused
As regards the last letter dated 14975 the High Court has totally lost sight of it
The High Court has failed to see that unless Veena Rani was very desperate she would not have written to her mother for money within four days of the letter to her brother
As regards the happenings on the morning of 15975 the High Court has failed to grasp their gravity
Unless a serious quarrel had taken place the accused and Veena Rani would not have gone to the house of PW 9 Shri Hari Om in the early hours of the morning itself to seek a solution to the problem
Despite PW 9 Shri Hari Om counselling patience the accused refused to relent and insisted upon immediate payment of 625 Rs 1000 and made it clear that the money was more impor tant to him than Veena Rani s life and that if Veena Rani wanted to die she may put an end to her life the very same day and give him relief forthwith
The High Court has viewed the accused s conduct and utterances as of no consequence because PW 9 Shri Hari Om has stated in crossexamination that he thought it was an ordinary quarrel between the husband and wife as they had been doing so previously also
 The High Court has failed to realise that the effect of the accused s utterances on Veena Rani s mind should be assessed in the context of the overall evidence in the case and not on the basis of the opinion of PW 9 Shri Hari Om about the nature of the quarrel
PW 9 Shri Hari Om despite his having been the counsel for Veena Rani could not have realised the effect of the utterances of the accused on the mind of Veena Rani
Furthermore the High Court has failed to notice that the accused has not thrown any light as to what transpired between him and Veena Rani after they had left the house of PW 9 Shri Hari Om
The fact that Veena Rani had forsaken her young son and had set fire to herself within a short time after reaching home will go to show that she would not have acted in that manner unless she had felt instigated to commit suicide by the utterances of the accused
The High Court besides unfortunately failing to give due weight to the evidence in the case has drawn certain inferences which are not at all warranted
For example the High Court has stated that since Veena Rani was an earning member the accused would not have stood to gain by instigating her to commit suicide
This inference is totally wrong because the clear evidence in the case is that the accused had placed greater value on the payment of the money demanded by him than upon the life of his wife
Then again the High Court has remarked that Veena Rani was suffering from depression and a diseased mind and hence she would have committed suicide
We are at a loss to know wherefrom the High Court derived material to draw this conclusion
Far from there being any evidence to show that Veena Rani was having a diseased mind PW 5 Krishan Dutt and PW 12 Nathu Ram have stated that Veena Rani was a woman of gentle and amiable disposition
She was working in the Bank without any com plaint whatever about her mental condition
Even the accused has not stated that she was of diseased mind
We are there fore more than satisfied that the judgment of the High Court suffers from serious errors and infirmities and is therefore manifestly unsustainable
Mr Mehta relied upon the observations in Sri Ram vs
UP State to contend that even if the accused had told Veena Rani that money was more important to him than her life and that she 626 can put an end to her life the very same day instead of waiting for the morrow it cannot be construed that the accused had done anything to facilitate the commission of suicide by Veena Rani as would attract Explanation II to Section 107 IPC
We do not find any merit in the conten tion
The facts in Shri Ram s case were entirely different
The question in that case was whether by shouting that the Vakil has come Violet one of the accused had abetted the commission of the offence of murder of one Kunwar Singh by the other accused persons who were hiding behind a shisham tree and coming out of their place of concealment and one of them shooting Kunwar Singh with a gun carried by him
Though the Sessions Judge and the High Court had held that Violet s act would amount to abetment of the commission of the of fence of murder in terms of Explanation II to Section 107 IPC this Court held that apart from the words attribut ed to Violet there is nothing at all to show that she was aware of the nefarious design of Sia Ram and his associates
 It was in that context this Court observed as follows Thus in order to constitute abetment the abettor must be shown to have intentionally aided the commission of the crime
Mere proof that the crime charged could not have been committed without the interposition of the alleged abettor is not enough compliance with the requirements of Section 107
 In the instant case we have already seen that the committing of suicide by Veena Rani was due to the accused s instigation
It is not a case where Veena Rani had wanted to commit suicide for reasons of her own and the accused had facilitated her in the commission of suicide
It was then urged by Mr Mehta that since two views could be taken of the evidence we should not allow the appeals and set aside the acquittal of the accused solely on the ground that the view taken by the High Court does not commend itself for our acceptance
We are fully alive to the position in law that where two views could reasonably be taken of the prosecution evidence in a case the Appellate Court should not interfere with the acquittal of an accused merely because the view taken by the Trial Court andor the High Court was less acceptable than the other view which could have been taken on the evidence
This principle will however have no application where the evidence does not afford scope for two plausible views being taken but still the Trial Court or the High Court acquits an accused for reasons 627 which are patently wrong and the error leads to an element of perversity pervading the judgment
As to what would constitute instigation for the commis sion of an offence would depend upon the facts of each case
Therefore in order to decide whether a person has abetted by instigation the commission of an offence or not the act of abetment has to be judged in the conspectus of the entire evidence in the case
The act of abetment attributed to an accused is not to be viewed or tested in isolation
Such being the case the instigative effect of the words used by the accused must be judged on the basis of the distraught condition to which the accused had driven Veena Rani
Full well knowing her helpless state and frustration if the accused had told her that he set greater store on the sum of Rs 1000 required by him than her life and that she can die the very same day and afford him early relief it is not surprising that Veena Rani committed suicide a little later on account of the accused s instigation
It would not be out of place for us to refer here to the addition of Sections 113A and 113B to the Indian Evidence Act and Sections 498A and 304B to the Indian Penal Code by subsequent amendments
Section 113A Evidence Act and 498A Indian Penal Code have been introduced in the respective enactments by the Criminal Law Second amendment Act 1983 Act 46 of 1983 and Section 113B of the Evidence Act and 304B Indian Penal Code have been introduced by Act No 43 of 1986
The degradation of society due to the pernicious system of dowry and the unconscionable demands made by greedy and unscrupulous husbands and their parents and relatives resulting in an alarming number of suicidal and dowry deaths by women has shocked the Legislative conscience to such an extent that the Legislature has deemed it neces sary to provide additional provisions of law procedural as well as substantive to combat the evil and has consequently introduced Sections 113A and 113B in the Indian Evidence Act and Sections 498A and 304B in the Indian Penal Code
By reason of Section 113A the Courts can presume that the commission of suicide by a woman has been abetted by her husband or relation if two factors are present viz 1 that the woman had committed suicide within a period of seven years from her marriage and 2 that the husband or rela tion had subjected her to cruelty
We are referring to these provisions only to show that the Legislature has realised the need to provide for additional provisions in the Indian Penal Code and the Indian Evidence Act to check the growing menace of dowry deaths
In the present case however the abetment of the commission of suicide by Veena Rani is 628 clearly due to instigation and would therefore fail under the first clause of Section 107 IPC
In the light of our conclusions the appeals have to be allowed and the conviction of the appellant under Section 306 IPC has to be restored
The question however arises as to whether the sentence of 4 years RI awarded by the Sessions Judge should also be restored
Mr Mehta learned counsel made a fervent plea for leniency on the ground that more than 11 years have elapsed since the High Court acquit ted the accused and the accused is now leading a settled life and that he and his family members would be ruined if he is to be sent back to prison to serve any further term of sentence
Learned counsel also stated that the accused has undergone imprisonment in connection with the case for a period of about 10 months and therefore even if we are to restore the conviction we may reduce the sentence to the period of imprisonment already undergone
Shri Suri
learned counsel appearing for the State submitted that the State was only anxious that the error committed by the High Court in acquitting the accused should be set right
He also added that in the event of the substantive sentence being reduced the accused should be called upon to pay a heavy fine
Taking all factors into consideration we think that the ends of justice would be met if we substitute the sentence awarded to the accused with the sentence of imprisonment for the period already undergone by him and enhance the sentence of fine from Rs500 to Rs20000 with a direction that out of the fine amount if paid a sum of Rs 18000 should be paid to the father of Veena Rani for bringing up Veena Rani s minor son Manish
The High Court judgment is accordingly set aside and the appeals are allowed and the conviction of the accused under Section 306 IPC is restored but the sentence is modified to the period of imprisonment already undergone and fine of Rs20000 in default thereof to suffer RI for two years
Out of the fine amount if paid Rs 18000 will be given to the appellant in Crl
Appeal No 477 of 1978 for being utilised for the maintenance of Veena Rani s son Manish
One month s time from today is given to the accused to pay the fine
RSS Appeals allowed


Summary:
The petitioner companies viz Veilore Electric Corpora tion Ltd Kumbakonam Electric Supply Corporation Ltd and Nagapatam Electric Supply Corporation Ltd were grantee of licences under the by the Government of the then Presidency of Madras for supply of electrical energy in their respective areas
In exercise of its power under Section 41 of the Madras Electricity Supply Undertakings Acquisition Act 1954 the State Government issued orders dated 1211968 taking over the undertakings of the Petitioner Companies viz Kumbakonam Electricity Supply Company and Nagapatam Electric Supply Company declaring that their undertakings shall vest in the Government with effect from the dates specified in their respective orders
These two petitioner companies filed writ petitions in the High Court of Madras challenging the constitutional validity of the 1954 Act which were dismissed
The Writ Appeals filed by them were also dismissed by a Division Bench of the High Court
Thereafter appeals were filed in this Court which were however later withdrawn
Though proceedings for the acquisition of the undertak ings of these two companies had been initiated under the 1954 Act but full effectuation thereof had been interrupted by the interlocutory orders made by the courts staying delivery of possession of the undertaking
Subsequently the Tamil Nadu Private Electricity Supply Undertakings Acquisition Act 1973 came into force which inter alia nul 477 lifted the effect of the action taken under the the State Government issued fresh orders under Section 41 of 1973 Act declaring that the undertakings of these two petitioner companies shah vest in Government with effect from 1121973
A similar order was passed bv the State Government under Section 41 of 1973 Act in respect of the third petitioner company viz Vellore Electric Corporation Ltd declaring that the undertaking of this company shall vest in the Government with effect from 711974
By an order dated 221978 the State Government also rejected the application of the petitioner Vellore Electric Corporation seeking a change in the basis for determination of amount from basis A to basis B under the 1974 Act
Writ Petitions were filed in this Court under Article 32 of the Constitution by the three affected companies chal lenging the constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu Pri vate Electricity Supply Undertakings Acquisition Act 1973 as well as the orders made under Section 41 on the ground that the Act  which envisages the acquisition of the Electric Supply Undertakings of petitioners as violative of Articles 14 191f 191g and 31 of the Constitu tion
Dismissing the Writ Petitions HELD 1
The electricity generated and distributed by the undertakings of the petitioner companies constitute material resources of the community for the purpose and within the meaning of Article 39b
11 The idea of distribution of the material resources of the community in Article 39b is not necessarily limited to the idea of what is taken over for distribution amongst the intended beneficiaries
That is one of the modes of distribution
Nationalisation is other mode
12 On an examination of the scheme of the impugned law the conclusion becomes inescapable that the legislative measure is one of nationalisation of the undertakings and the law is eligible for and entitled to the protection of Article 31 C 13 The economic cost of social and economic reform is perhaps amongst the most vexed problems of social and economic change and constitute the core element in National isation
The need for constitutional immunities for such legislative efforts at social and economic 478 change recognise the otherwise unaffordable economic burden of reforms
It is therefore not possible to divorce the economic consideration or components from the scheme of the nationalisation with which the former are inextricably integrated
The financial cost of a scheme of nationalisa tion lies at its very heart and cannot be isolated
Both the provisions relating to the vestitute of the undertakings in the State and those pertaining to the quantification of the Amount  are integral and inseparable parts of the integral scheme of nationalisation and do not admit of being consid ered as distinct provisions independent of each other
Tinsukia Electric Supply Co Ltd vs
State of Assam 19893 SCC 709 applied 14 In view Of the fact that what was acquired in the instant case were not merely choses in action but the undertakings themselves it is not necessary to go into the question whether a choses in action can at all be ac quired
State of Madhya Pradesh vs Ranojirao Shinde  Anr  and Madan Mohan Pathak vs Union of India  Ors   referred to
The subject matter of the grant in relation to dis tribution in the community of such material resources be it electricity water gas or other essential amenities of life has a special nature
New Orleans Gaslight Co vs Louisiane Light  Heat Producing  Mfg Co   The Okara Electricity Supply Co Ltd vs The State of Punjab AIR 1960 SC 284 referred to
21 The impugned law is within the legislative compe tence of the State Legislature and such State law with the Presidential assent prevails and is not over borne by the Central law
The impugned State law by its 22nd section expressly excludes the operation of any provisions of the Electricity Act 1910 in so far as such provision is incon sistent with the provisions of the Stare Law
The Constitu tional immunity afforded to the State law prevents any challenge to it on grounds based on Article 14 or 19 3
There is nothing unreasonable about the provision which merely recognises the obligation of a licensee to account for its acts in relation to a property which has already vested in Government
There 479 fore Section 4 which pertains to the liability of the licen see to account to Government in respect of possession of and any benefit derived from the undertaking after the date of the vesting is not arbitrary and unconstitutional
The deduction envisaged by Section 10d from the amount payable towards and on account of arrears of elec tricity charges payable by the licensee to the Government or the Electricity Board as the case may be for the supply of Electricity made by them to the licensee is a legitimate item of deduction
It cannot be held to be arbitrary on the apprehension that even a disputed and untenable claim in that behalf becomes entitled to deduction
Section 131e makes such a dispute as one of the arbitrable disputes and no deduction of a disputed claim can be justified by the Government if the arbitrator who is or has been a District Judge or a retired High Court Judge holds that the deduction is unjustified
If a debt is deducted from the amount the debt is satisfied and is extinguished and no further debt remains outstanding to get itself attached to and becomes an encum brance upon the substituted security viz the amount 
Section 62 and Section 10e must be construed harmonious ly and in a reasonable manner
There is no scope for any apprehension of a possible double recovery of the same debt
Therefore the Act cannot be challenged on the ground of possible double recovery of the same debt under Section 62 and Section 10e
The measure of the reimbursement for an asset with held by the licensee is the corresponding expenditure to be incurred by Government for replacement which in eminently conceivable cases could be the market value of the asset which is so withheld by the licensee and which has to be replaced to keep the undertaking functioning
Therefore Section 10f cannot be held to be arbitrary on the ground that it is an instance of application of double standards because while recovery of market value is sought to be made for non delivery of the item whereas in computing the amount only the book value of such property or right is taken
It cannot be said that the accredited representative is under Section 81 given only a month s time from the date of his appointment to signify the choice under Section 5 as to the basis of determination of the amount
Section 81 also provides or such further time as may be granted by the Government 
If the exercise of this power is arbi trary or capricious the licensee has remedies in Administra tive 480 Law
But the provision itself cannot be held to be bad or invalid on the ground that time granted under the Section to signify choice under Section 5 is unreasonably short
The order of the Government dated 221978 rejecting the application of the Petitioner Vellore Electric Corpora tion and refusing a change in the basis for determination of amount from basis A to basis B is set aside and the Govern ment is directed to consider the matter afresh