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Omanakkuttan & Ors. v. State of Kerala

Criminal Appeal · 2020 INSC 651Decided 20 Nov 2020
Criminal Appeal No. 800 of 2020
Justice Ashok Bhushan · Justice R. Subhash Reddy

Background

Three accused (A1 to A3) were convicted by a Kerala trial court in 2004 for causing grievous hurt to a relative during an altercation in 2002, and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment and fines. The Kerala High Court upheld the conviction in 2018 but reduced the sentence to three years with higher compensation amounts. Two of the three appellants had already served their sentences and did not press their appeal further, leaving only the third appellant's case before the Supreme Court, and notice had been limited only to the question of sentence, not guilt.

Decision Breakdown

Since the Supreme Court had issued notice only on the quantum of sentence, it declined to revisit the conviction itself. Considering that the incident was nearly two decades old, that the third appellant had already served more than two years in custody, that the parties were relatives, and his weak financial condition, the Court held it was a fit case to reduce the sentence to the period already undergone. The compensation payable for each offence was also reduced from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 5,000, to be paid within two months. The conviction itself, including for the separate offence under Section 324 IPC, was left undisturbed.

Lesson Learnt

Even after a conviction is finally upheld, the Supreme Court can moderate the harshness of a sentence, such as jail time already served or the financial capacity to pay compensation, especially in old cases involving family disputes, without reopening the question of guilt.

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

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