Ravada Sasikala vs State Of Andhra Pradesh And Anr

2. Though the aforesaid observations were made in the context of a matrimonial dispute arising out of a proceeding under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 praying for dissolution of marriage by granting a decree of divorce, yet we have commenced our judgment with the same as the facts of the present case painfully project what a relation in close proximity can do to a young girl when his proposal for his marriage is not accepted and he, forgetting the fundamental facet of human dignity and totally becoming oblivious of the fact that marriage, as a social institution, is an affirmance of civilized society order, allows his unrequited love to be converted to complete venom that leads him on the path of vengeance, and the ultimate shape of such retaliation is house trespass by the accused carrying an acid bottle and pouring it over the head of the girl, the appellant herein.

3. The necessary facts. On the basis of the statement of the injured, an FIR under Sections 448 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at police station Vallampudi. The injuries sustained by the victim-informant required long treatment and eventually after recording the statements of the witnesses, collecting various materials from the spot and taking other aspects into consideration of the crime, the investigating agency filed the charge sheet for the offences that were originally registered under the FIR before the competent court which, in turn, committed the matter to the Court of Session, Vizianagaram. The accused abjured his guilt and expressed his desire to face the trial.

5. The learned Assistant Sessions Judge, Vizianagaram did not find the accused guilty under Section 307 IPC but held him guilty under Section 326 and 448 IPC. At the time of hearing of the sentence under Section 235(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the convict pleaded for mercy on the foundation of his support to the old parents, the economic status, social strata to which he belongs and certain other factors. The learned trial judge, upon hearing him, sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year and directed to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- with a default clause under Section 326 IPC and sentenced him to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- for the offence under Section 448 IPC with a default clause.

10. As the factual matrix gets unfolded from the judgment of the learned trial Judge, the appellant after completion of her intermediate course had accompanied her brother to Amalapuram of East Godavari District where he was working as an Assistant Professor in B.V.C. Engineering College, Vodalacheruvu and stayed with him about a week prior to the occurrence. Thereafter, she along with her brother went to his native place Sompuram. At that time, the elder brother of the accused proposed a marriage alliance between the accused and the appellant for which her family expressed unwillingness. The reason for expressing the unwillingness is not borne out on record but the said aspect, needless to say, is absolutely irrelevant. What matters to be stated is that the proposal for marriage was not accepted. It is evincible from the material brought on record that the morning of 24.05.2003 became the darkest and blackest one in her life as the appellant having a head bath had put a towel on her head to dry, the accused trespassed into her house and poured a bottle of acid over her head. It has been established beyond a trace of doubt by the ocular testimony and the medical evidence that some part of her body was disfigured and the disfiguration is due to the acid attack.

14. We have noted earlier that the conviction under Section 326 IPC stands established. The singular issue is the appropriateness of the quantum of sentence. Almost 27 years back in Sham Sunder v. Puran and another[2], the accused-appellant therein was convicted under Section 304 Part I IPC and while imposing the sentence, the appellate court reduced the sentence to the term of imprisonment already undergone, i.e., six months. However, it enhanced the fine. This Court ruled that sentence awarded was inadequate. Proceeding further, it opined that:-

23. In view of our analysis, we are compelled to set aside the sentence imposed by the High Court and restore that of the trial court. In addition to the aforesaid, we are disposed to address on victim compensation. We are of the considered opinion that the appellant is entitled to compensation that is awardable to a victim under the CrPC. In Ankush Shivaji Gaikwad v. State of Maharashtra[16], the two-Judge Bench referred to the amended provision, 154th Law Commission Report that has devoted entire chapter to victimology, wherein the growing emphasis was on the victim.

25. The Court further directed that the acid attack victims shall be paid compensation of at least Rs 3 lakhs by the State Government/Union Territory concerned as the aftercare and rehabilitation cost. Of this amount, a sum of Rs. 1 lakh was directed to be paid to such victim within 15 days of occurrence of such incident (or being brought to the notice of the State Government/Union Territory) to facilitate immediate medical attention and expenses in this regard. The balance sum of Rs.2 lakhs was directed to be paid as expeditiously as possible and positively within two months thereafter and compliance thereof was directed to be ensured by the Chief Secretaries of the States and the Administrators of the Union Territories.

28. Regard being had to the aforesaid decisions, we direct the accused- respondent No. 2 to pay a compensation of Rs.50,000/- and the State to pay a compensation of Rs.3 lakhs. If the accused does not pay the compensation amount within six months, he shall suffer further rigorous imprisonment of six months, in addition to what has been imposed by the trial court. The State shall deposit the amount before the trial court within three months and the learned trial Judge on proper identification of the victim, shall disburse it in her favour.

29. The criminal appeals are allowed to the extent indicated above.

February 27, 2017