( 1 ) IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 159 OF 1998 Asaram s/o Keshav More, R/o Paithan, Dist. Aurangabad APPELLANT VERSUS The State of Maharashtra RESPONDENT .... Mr. Abhijit Namde, advocate holding for Mr. S.K. Barlota, advocate for the appellant. Mr. P.P. More, APP for the respondent/State. .... [CORAM : V.R. KINGAONKAR, J.] [DATE : 23rd December, 2010] ORAL JUDGEMENT : 1. This appeal arises out of judgement rendered by learned Sessions Judge, Aurangabad, in Sessions Case No. 174/1997 whereby and whereunder the appellant is convicted for the offence punishable under section 324 of the I.P. Code and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six (6) months and to pay fine of Rs. 500/-, in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two (2) months. 2. The appellant was tried for the offence punishable ( 2 ) under section 307 of the I.P. Code on the allegation that he stabbed injured informant - Narayan Manmode by means of a knife on 27th April, 1997, on account of the latter's love affair with the appellant's daughter by name Sunita. The appellant was irked because marriage of Sunita was settled and yet, informant Narayan was not ready to give up his love affair and that had caused turmoil in her marriage proposal and settlement. 3. The learned Sessions Judge placed implicit reliance on the version of informant Narayan who was examined in order to corroborate the FIR (Exh-11). On basis of material adduced before the learned Sessions Judge, the appellant came to be convicted and sentenced as indicated hereinabove. 4. Mr. Namde, learned advocate appearing for the appellant, submits that the conviction of the appellant for the offence punishable under section 324 of the I.P. Code is not being challenged by him. He does not press into service the appeal against the order of conviction. He, however, submits that the sentence awarded to the appellant is rather harsh and deserves to be suitably modified. Thus, he has restricted the argument only to the extent of the propriety ( 3 ) and legality of the sentence awarded to the appellant. He points out that the appellant is now 77 years old and the conviction was awarded on 29th April, 1998. He would submit that after such long passage of time, the appellant may not be awarded the sentence of imprisonment which is likely to cause more injury to the appellant. He, therefore, seeks reduction in the substantive sentence awarded to the appellant. Learned A.P.P. would submit that awarding of the sentence being discretion of the Court, he has to say nothing about the quantum of the sentence awarded to the appellant. 5. Here is a case in which the heart of the father was perturbed when his daughter was likely face problems in her matrimonial life. The appellant had no personal enmity with informant Narayan. He had no other tangible reason to mount the assault. The marriage of the daughter of the appellant had been settled and yet, the love affair was not being given a decent burial. It was but natural for the appellant to be annoyed due to the conduct of informant Narayan. What appears from the record is that the appellant dealt a single blow on person of informant Narayan. He did not cause any stab injury on vital part of the body of informant - PW Narayan. The Medico-Legal Certificate (Exh-19) reveals that the informant ( 4 ) had been found to have received a single stab wound of 4 cm x 2 cm x 2 cm, on right side of the umbilious valves. The intention of the appellant was to deter informant Narayan from going ahead with the love affair. The recitals of the FIR prima facie show that the appellant was annoyed because the marriage of his daughter was broken due to the love affair and he had received information from reliable source that the informant - PW Narayan was instrumental in causing breaking of the marriage of his daughter. It appears that informant Narayan had put spokes in the settled marriage and, therefore, the proposal had fizzled out. 6. Considering the reasons which prompted the appellant to mount the assault on informant PW Narayan, one can gather that the appellant was emotionally disturbed. There was heart burning due to breaking of the marriage proposal of the appellant's daughter and that too, on account of the hindrance caused by informant PW Narayan. In the peculiar fact situation of the present case and after passage of such a long period, it would not be proper to maintain the sentence as it is. The appellant is quite aged person and deserves due sympathy in view of the attending circumstances mentioned above. ( 5 ) 7. In the result, the appeal is partly allowed only to the extent of the sentence and is dismissed on merits to the extent of conviction awarded by the Sessions Court. The sentence awarded to the appellant is reduced to the period of imprisonment already undergone by him as a under-trial prisoner and after his arrest in execution of the non-bailable warrant. He shall be immediately freed, if the fine is recovered and if not required in any other case. The order regarding disposal of the property is maintained. [ V.R. KINGAONKAR ] JUDGE NPJ/criapl159-1998