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Bijender @ Papu and Anr. v. State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 463 of 2016)Decided 3 Jun 2016
Criminal Appeal No. 463 of 2016
Justice Dipak Misra · Justice Shiva Kirti Singh

Background

The two appellants, along with three co-accused, were convicted over a 1997 dispute about a drainage passage that escalated into a group assault causing a severe head injury to one victim, Budhram, who was left mentally impaired and unable to testify. The trial court convicted all five under Section 325 (grievous hurt) along with other lesser IPC offences; the Punjab and Haryana High Court, hearing both the convicts' appeal and the victim's revision for enhancement, increased their sentence for the main offence from three to five years' rigorous imprisonment. Notice in the Supreme Court was issued solely on the question of sentence.

Decision Breakdown

The appellants argued they deserved the same leniency (release on probation) given to three co-accused, but the Supreme Court held that concession had been granted to those three specifically because of their extreme old age (75-85 years), a ground that did not apply to the appellants. However, since no evidence specifically identified which of the five assailants struck the blow that caused Budhram's serious head injury, and given the case's origin in a minor civil dispute over a drain and the long ordeal of a 19-year-old trial, the Court found the five-year sentence too severe and reduced it back to three years' rigorous imprisonment for both appellants, while leaving the fine and other convictions intact.

Lesson Learnt

Leniency granted to co-accused based on a personal factor like extreme old age does not automatically extend to other convicts by "parity"; but where no specific individual role (such as who struck the critical blow) can be pinned on any particular defendant in a group assault, courts may moderate sentence enhancement accordingly.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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