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Indradeo Sao and others v. State of Bihar

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 709 of 2015)Decided 28 Apr 2015
Criminal Appeal No. 709 of 2015
Justice Dipak Misra · Justice Prafulla C. Pant

Background

The appellants, the husband, father-in-law and brother-in-law of a woman who died an unnatural death within about two years of marriage, were convicted under Sections 304B, 498A and 201 IPC for dowry death, cruelty and destruction of evidence, after the woman's father alleged a dowry demand of Rs.10,000 led to her death. The trial court and High Court both affirmed the conviction and sentences (10 years' rigorous imprisonment under 304B). Before the Supreme Court, leave was granted only on two limited points: the quantum of sentence, and a claim that the brother-in-law, Nand Kumar Sao, was a juvenile at the time of the offence.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court had earlier directed the Sessions Judge, Nalanda, to hold an inquiry into Nand Kumar Sao's age. Based on original school certificates, the inquiry found he was only about 15 years and 9 months old on the date of the offence, making him a juvenile under the Juvenile Justice Act. Applying its own precedents on juvenility, the Court quashed only Nand Kumar Sao's sentence of imprisonment and ordered his release (while affirming his conviction), but dismissed the appeals of the other two appellants (Indradeo Sao and Raj Kumar Sao), finding no reason to reduce their sentences.

Lesson Learnt

A claim of juvenility can be raised and examined even years after conviction and at the Supreme Court stage, and if proven through reliable documents like original school certificates, it entitles the accused to have the sentence of imprisonment quashed (though the underlying conviction may still stand): age at the time of the offence, not at trial, is what matters.

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

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