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Murali v. State Rep. by the Inspector of Police

Criminal Appeal · 2021 INSC 2Decided 5 Jan 2021
Criminal Appeal No. 24 of 2021
Justice N.V. Ramana · Justice Surya Kant · Justice Aniruddha Bose

Background

During a verbal altercation at a volleyball match in 2005, Murali and Rajavelu, along with others, assaulted a young man named Sathya, severely injuring his hands. Murali was convicted for voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon and wrongful restraint, while Rajavelu was convicted for attempt to murder and wrongful restraint; both convictions were upheld through two levels of appeal. Years later, the appellants and the victim entered into an amicable settlement, and the appellants approached the Supreme Court seeking leave to appeal, ultimately restricting their plea to a reduction of sentence rather than challenging the conviction itself.

Decision Breakdown

The Court noted that Sections 324 and 307 IPC are not compoundable offences under Section 320 CrPC, so the offences themselves could not be formally "compounded." However, relying on a line of its own precedents (including Ram Pujan v. State of UP and Ishwar Singh v. State of MP), it held that a genuine, voluntary settlement between the parties is a relevant factor in deciding the quantum of sentence, even for non-compoundable offences. Considering the appellants' young age at the time of the offence, the absence of prior enmity or criminal history, the time elapsed (15 years), and time already served, the Court reduced both appellants' sentences to the period already undergone and ordered their release.

Lesson Learnt

Even when a criminal offence cannot legally be "compounded" (settled to end the case) because the law classifies it as non-compoundable, a genuine reconciliation between victim and accused can still be a valid and important factor for the court to consider in reducing the punishment, especially where there was no gang-related or custodial pattern.

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

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