FAZAL RAB CHOUDHARY Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special leave limited to the question of sentence only.

(2.) Appellant is convicted for having committed an offence under Section 377, I. P. C., in that he committed an unnatural offence upon a young boy who had come to his house to take a syringe. The learned Magistrate convicted him for the aforementioned offence and sentenced him to suffer R. I. for three years. While recording the order of sentence, the learned Magistrate observed:

(3.) The offence is one under Section 377, I. P. C., which implies sexual perversity. No force appears to have been used. Neither the notions of permissive society nor the fact that in some countries homosexuality has ceased to be an offence has influenced our thinking. However in judging the depravity of the action for determining quantum of sentence, all aspects of the matter must be kept in view. We feel there is some scope for modification of sentence. Having examined all the relevant aspects bearing on the question of nature of offence and quantum of sentence, we reduce the substantive sentence to R.I. for 6 months. To the extent of this modification in the sentence, the appeal is allowed.