Criminal Revision No. 891 of 1999 1 In the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh Criminal Revision No. 891 of 1999 Date of decision : 30.7.2008 Ganga Ram and others ..... Petitioners vs State of Haryana ..... Respondent Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal Present: Mr. Gaurav Goyal, Advocate, for the petitioners. Mr.Navneet Singh, Assistant Advocate General, Haryana. Rajesh Bindal J. This is a petition filed under Section 401 Cr.P.C. against the judgment passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon, dated 20.7.1999, upholding conviction and sentence of the petitioners under Sections 323/ 325 IPC passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Gurgaon. Briefly, the facts are that on 3.8.1993 complainant Sukhi Ram got his statement recorded before the police with the allegations that today at about 6/6.30 p.m., when he was coming back to his house after grazing the goats, petitioners Ganga Ram, Kanwar Lal, Lakhan Pal and Narang, who were armed with lathis, caused injuries to him. On hearing his noise, his son Ranbir and daughter-in-law Kamlesh came to the spot and tried to save him. The petitioners also caused injuries to them with lathis. They were rescued from the clutches of the petitioners by Daya Nand, Mange Ram and Kallu. The trial court, after appraisal of the prosecution evidence on record, found the petitioners and accused-Norang guilty for having committed offence under Sections 323/ 325 IPC. It convicted and sentenced them to undergo simple imprisonment for three months each under Section 323 IPC and simple imprisonment of one year and to pay a fine of Rs.300/- each under Section 325 IPC. In appeal before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, the accused Narang was ordered to be released on probation, however, the Criminal Revision No. 891 of 1999 2 conviction and sentence of the petitioners was upheld and even their request for granting them benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1959 (for short, “the Act”), was also declined. Though, initially learned counsel for the petitioners sought to assail the findings of the Court below whereby the petitioners were convicted and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for the aforesaid offences, however, finding it difficult in view of the statement of the complainant and the medical evidence, learned counsel for the petitioners prayed that keeping in view the fact that the petitioners are not habitual offenders, they had faced the agony of trial before the Courts for about fifteen years, further that they have families to support and being the sole bread- earners of the family, they should be extended the benefit of probation under the Act. He has placed reliance upon judgments of this Court in Sudh Ram v. State of Punjab, 2006(3) RCR (Criminal) 550; Manohar Lal v. State of Punjab, 2004(1) RCR (Criminal) 656; Krishan Kumar v. State of Punjab, 2005(3) RCR (Criminal) 579; Balbir Singh v. State of Haryana, 2004(3) RCR (Criminal) 310; Sultan Singh v. State of Punjab, 2004(4) RCR (Criminal) 328 and Jai Ram v. State of Haryana, 2005(3) RCR (Criminal) 597. After hearing learned counsel for the parties, this Court does not find any illegality in the conviction of the petitioners. However, the factum of long trial, the petitioners being first offenders, sole bread earners of family with own families to support are sufficient mitigating circumstances to extend the benefit of probation to the petitioners. Keeping in view my above observation, the present petition is disposed of by holding that the conviction of the petitioners is upheld, however, the sentence awarded to them is modified to the extent that instead of undergoing the imprisonment for the remainder sentence, the petitioners shall be released on probation on their executing bonds to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurgaon. The petitioners are also directed to file an undertaking to keep peace and maintain good behaviour and to appear and undergo sentence as and when called upon to do so. The petition is disposed of in the aforesaid manner. 30.7.2008 (Rajesh Bindal) vs. Judge