IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Crl.Revision No. 1571 of 2010 Date of decision: 16.7.2010 Dharminder Singh and others ......Petitioners Vs. State of Punjab ...Respondent CORAM:- HON'BLE MRS.JUSTICE DAYA CHAUDHARY. PRESENT: Ms. Naiya Gill, Advocate, for the petitioners. Mr. R.S.Rawat, AAG, Punjab. **** ORDER The present revision petition has been filed by Dharminder Singh and Ranjit Singh against judgment dated 18.5.2010 passed by Sessions Judge, Rupnagar vide which their conviction under Section 323 IPC and sentence for six months' RI with fine of Rs.500/- each have been upheld. Notice of motion was issued in this case on 27.5.2010. Learned counsel for the petitioners does not want to contest the conviction and submits that the petitioners have already undergone more than two months of actual sentence against the total sentence of six months and have already suffered a lot as they are facing the agony of protracted trial since December 2002 and being poor persons having no criminal background, the sentence imposed upon them be reduced to the period already undergone by them. The petitioners are also ready to pay some reasonable amount of compensation to the complainant-injured. Crl.Revision No. 1571 of 2010 [2] Learned counsel for the State has no objection in the submission made by the learned counsel for the petitioners provided some reasonable amount of compensation is given to the complainant-injured. I have heard the arguments of learned counsel for the parties and have also gone through the judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by both the Courts below. In the present case, the FIR was recorded on the basis of statement made by complainant Gurnam Singh as he was given beatings at the hands of accused-petitioners. The trial Court convicted and sentenced accused namely Dharminder Singh, Bahadur Singh, Harpreet Singh and Ranjit Singh as under: Dharminder Singh, Bahadur Singh, Harpreet Singh, Ranjit Singh and Dharampal U/s 148 IPC To undergo RI for a period of one year each and to pay fine of Rs.500/- each and in default of payment thereof, to further undergo RI for one month. Dharminder Singh, Bahadur Singh, Harpreet Singh, Ranjit Singh and Dharampal U/s 323/149 IPC To undergo RI for a period of six months each and to pay fine of Rs.500/- each and in default of payment thereof, to further undergo RI for 15 days. Feeling aggrieved against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence, accused Dharminder Singh, Bahadur Singh, Harpreet Singh, Ranjit Singh and Dharampal filed an appeal before the Sessions Judge, Rupnagar, who allowed the appeal qua accused Bahadur Singh, Harpreet Singh and Dharampal and acquitted them of the charge framed against them. Accused Dharminder Singh and Ranjit Singh were acquitted for offence under Section 148 IPC however, convicted Dharminder Singh Crl.Revision No. 1571 of 2010 [3] and Ranjit Singh under Section 323 IPC and substantive sentence awarded by the trial Court was upheld. The present revision petition has been filed by the petitioners challenging the judgment dated 18.5.2010 passed by Sessions Judge, Rupnagar on the ground that the petitioners have already faced the agony of protracted trial for the last more than 7-1/2 years as the FIR was registered in December 2002. The petitioners have no criminal background , they are in the age group of 22-25 years and are first offenders. The petitioners are ready to pay some reasonable amount of compensation. Without saying much more on merits of the case, since the learned counsel for the petitioners has not contested the conviction of the petitioners and has restricted his prayer to the sentence part only with the submission that sentence be reduced to the period already undergone by them as they have already undergone more than two months of actual sentence against the total sentence of six months. Keeping in view the fact that the petitioners are first offenders having no criminal background and have already undergone more than two months of actual sentence against total sentence of six months and have faced the agony of protracted trial since December 2002, the prayer of the petitioners seems to be genuine. Under these circumstances, while maintaining the conviction of petitioners Dharminder Singh and Ranjit Singh under Section 323 IPC, the sentence imponed upon them is reduced to the period already undergone by them subject to payment of Rs.20,000/- as compensation to the injured persons which is to be shared by the petitioners equally. The Crl.Revision No. 1571 of 2010 [4] said amount be deposited before the trial Court within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of the order, failing which the petitioners would undergo the remainder of sentence. With above modification, the revision petition is disposed of. Copy of the order be given dasti under the signature of Special Secretary. (DAYA CHAUDHARY) JUDGE July 16, 2010. raghav