The State Of Madhya Pradesh vs Suresh

4. The background aspects of the case, so far relevant for the question at hand could be noticed as follows: The prosecution case had been that on 13.05.1996, at about 4:30 p.m., the respondent assaulted his father Tulsiram with a blunt object causing fracture on the parietal region of skull; and the same night, victim succumbed to the injury at Betual Hospital. On the basis of the information received from the hospital that the deceased Tulsiram was brought to the hospital by the respondent Suresh in unconscious condition, Marg Information No. 0/30/96 was registered under section 174 Cr.P.C. However, when it was noticed from the statements of PW-3 Sawalbai, PW-6 Basanti Bai and PW-10 Sarpach Sukhlal that the respondent was seen hitting his father, he was arrested on 20.05.1996 and FIR in Crime No. 120/1996 (Ex. P-19) came to be registered at police station, Amla. After due investigation, the respondent was charge-sheeted for the offences under Sections 201 and 302 IPC.

5. In trial, the prosecution, inter alia, relied on the testimony of PW-3 Smt. Sawalbai who stated that while working in a field near the place of incident, she had seen the respondent assaulting his father with a lathi (wooden log). PW-2 Babulal stated that upon hearing the cries of PW-3, he saw the accused assaulting someone; he reached the spot and found 2 that the injured person was the father of accused; and he prevented the accused from further assaulting his father. PW-4 Dinesh alias Mathu corroborated the testimonies of PW-2 and PW-3. On the other hand, the accused-respondent attempted to suggest that his father sustained injury when he fell from the roof while putting up khapra.

7. Having thus convicted the accused-respondent for the offence under Section 304 Part II IPC, the Trial Court found it just and proper to award him the punishment of 3 years' rigorous imprisonment while also observing that the period of detention already undergone (from 20.05.1996 to 09.09.1996) would be set off against the term of imprisonment imposed on him.

13. Criminal law adheres in general to the principle of proportionality in prescribing liability according to the culpability of each kind of criminal conduct. It ordinarily allows some significant discretion to the Judge in arriving at a sentence in each case, presumably to permit sentences that reflect more subtle considerations of culpability that are raised by the special facts of each case. Judges, in essence, affirm that punishment ought always to fit the crime; yet in practice sentences are determined largely by other considerations. Sometimes it is the correctional needs of the perpetrator that are offered to justify a sentence, sometimes the desirability of keeping him out of circulation, and sometimes even the tragic results of his crime. Inevitably, these considerations cause a departure from just deserts as the basis of punishment and create cases of apparent injustice that are serious and widespread.

15. In the process of sentencing, any one factor, whether of extenuating circumstance or aggravating, cannot, by itself, be decisive of the matter. In the same sequence, we may observe that mere passage of time, by itself, cannot be a clinching factor though, in an appropriate case, it may be of some bearing, along with other relevant factors. Moreover, when certain extenuating or mitigating circumstances are suggested on behalf of the convict, the other factors relating to the nature of crime and its impact on the social order and public interest cannot be lost sight of. 11

17. Therefore, when an accused is convicted for the offence under Part II of Section 304 ibid., he could be sentenced to imprisonment for a term which may extend to a period of 10 years, or with fine, or both. In this case, the Trial Court chose to award the punishment of 3 years' rigorous imprisonment to the respondent. The punishment so awarded by the Trial Court had itself been leaning towards leniency, essentially in view of the fact that the respondent was 26 years of age at the time of the incident in question. However, the High Court further proceeded to reduce the punishment to the period already undergone (i.e., 3 months and 21 days) on consideration of the factors: (i) that the incident had taken place at spur of the moment; (ii) that the respondent was 26 years of age at the 12 time of incident; and (iii) that the respondent himself took his father to hospital. On these considerations and after finding that the respondent had spent 3 months and 21 days in custody, the High Court concluded that “no useful purpose would be served in sending appellant back to jail”. We are clearly of the view that, further indulgence by the High Court, over and above the leniency already shown by the Trial Court, was totally uncalled for.

20. In the given set of facts and circumstances, the observations in Jinnat Mia (supra) on the powers of the High Court to review the entire matter in appeal and to come to its own conclusion or that the practice of this Court not to interfere on questions of facts except in exceptional cases shall have no application to the present case, particularly when we find that the High Court has erred in law and has not been justified in reducing the sentence to a grossly inadequate level while ignoring the relevant considerations.

22. For what has been discussed hereinabove, this appeal succeeds and is allowed; the impugned judgment and order of the High Court dated 27.11.2012 is set aside and that of the Trial Court dated 06.01.1998 is restored. The respondent shall surrender before the Court concerned within a period of 4 weeks from today and shall undergo the remaining 15 part of the sentence. In case he fails to surrender within the period aforesaid, the Trial Court will take necessary steps to ensure that he serves out the remaining part of sentence, of course, after due adjustment of the period already undergone.