Harbans Singh vs State of Punjab

Desai, J.—We are not inclined to grant special leave, but we make this short speaking order in order to keep the record straight that the dismissal of the SLP does not tantamount to affirmance of the order of the learned Judge of the High Court who for reasons utterly untenable interfered with the sentence imposed by the trial court and reduced it to sentence already undergone which in the facts and circumstances of the case was wholly impermissible.

In Meet Singh Vs. State of Punjab, this Court pointed out that Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act prescribes a minimum sentence and discretion is conferred on the court to give less than the minimum for any special reasons to be recorded in writing. This Court examined what constitute special reasons for the purpose of Section 5(2) and pointed out that the reasons which weighed with the learned Judge in reducing the sentence to the sentence undergone could not be special reasons. Therefore, in our view, the learned Judge was entirely in error in showing a misplaced sympathy unsustainable in law. With these observations we reject the special leave petition.