Raju @ Shyamsunder Omprakash Chaudhari vs State of Gujarat

M.D. Shah, J.—The Appellant-original accused has filed this appeal for quashing and setting aside the judgment and order of conviction dated 29.8.2008 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No. 1, City Civil & Sessions Court, Ahmedabad in Sessions Case No. 42 of 2008.

The present Appellant has been convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 328 and 379 of the Indian Penal Code vide judgment and order dated 29.8.2008 passed by the trial court whereby the learned trial court has convicted the Appellant to undergo seven years R.I. for the offences punishable u/s 328 of Indian Penal Code and fine of Rs. 7,000/-, and in default to undergo six months simple imprisonment. The learned trial court has also convicted the Appellant to undergo two years R.I. for the offence punishable u/s 379 of Indian Penal Code and a fine of Rs. 2,000/-, and in default to undergo four months simple imprisonment. All the aforesaid sentences are to run concurrently and the period of imprisonment as under trial prisoner has been ordered to be given set off. Hence this appeal.

Heard learned advocate Ms. Sadhana Sagar for the Appellant and learned APP Mr. L.R. Pujari for the State.

It is submitted by learned advocate Ms. Sadhana Sagar for the Appellant that she does not press this appeal on merits as the Appellant is in jail for more than 4 years and 8 months, and therefore she press this appeal only qua quantum of sentence.

this Court has gone through the impugned judgment and order of conviction passed by the trial court and also gone the evidence on record. The Appellant is arrested through transfer warrant as he was arrested in other offences also. His jail conduct is good and he is a poor person and he is only earning member in his family and he has responsibility to maintain his wife and three children.

In view of the above and without entering into the merits of the case, the appeal is partly allowed. The impugned judgment and order dated 29.8.2008 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No. 1, City Civil & Sessions Court, Ahmedabad in Sessions Case No. 42 of 2008 is modified to the extent that the sentence imposed on the original accused Raju @ Shyamsunder Omprakash Chaudhari for the offence punishable u/s 328 of Indian Penal Code for seven years R.I. and fine of Rs. 7,000/- is ordered to be reduced to five years and six months with fine of Rs. 3,000/-, and in default to undergo 3 months S.I., and so far the sentence imposed on the original accused for the offence punishable u/s 379 of Indian Penal Code for two years R.I. will remain unaltered, but the amount of fine of Rs. 2,000/- is ordered to be reduced to Rs. 1,000/-, and in default to undergo one month S.I. The original accused is entitled to get benefit of set off u/s 428 of Code of Criminal Procedure.

Registry is directed to send Record & Proceedings to the trial court forth with.