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The State of Himachal Pradesh vs. Raghubir Singh & Ors.

Not available · 2024 INSC 421Decided 15 May 2024
Not available
Justice Abhay S. Oka · Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Background

The case arose from a 1989 incident where a woman (the prosecutrix) alleged gang rape by six accused. The Sessions Court tried them; the High Court of Himachal Pradesh ultimately convicted two of the accused, Raghubir Singh and Vijay, under Section 376(2)(g) IPC (rape by more than one person), sentencing each to three years' rigorous imprisonment: below the then-prescribed minimum of ten years, relying on a proviso allowing a lesser sentence for "adequate and special reasons." Both the State (seeking enhancement of the sentence) and the accused Vijay (seeking acquittal) appealed to the Supreme Court, nearly 35 years after the incident.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined the evidence, including the prosecutrix's testimony and its cross-examination, and found no reason to disturb the High Court's factual conclusions, noting that where the relationship between the accused Vijay and the prosecutrix was in question, this had not been meaningfully tested in cross-examination, so the High Court's conclusion of guilt was the only possible one on the record. On sentencing, the Court noted that at the relevant time (before later amendments), the law did give courts discretion to impose less than the minimum ten-year sentence for special reasons, and found the High Court's reasoning for imposing only three years (including the enormous 35-year delay and the convicts having moved on with their lives) to be adequate. The Court dismissed both the State's appeal for enhancement and Vijay's appeal against conviction, but noted that Vijay, unlike the other convict who had already served his term, had been out on bail since 2018 and had not completed his three-year sentence, so he was directed to surrender within one month to serve the remainder.

Lesson Learnt

Even in serious offences, courts had (at the relevant time) discretion to impose a sentence below the statutory minimum for well-documented special reasons such as extraordinary delay in the justice process, but that same discretion cannot be used to let a convict escape serving the sentence actually imposed.

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

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