GOVERDHAN DASS Vs. CHAMAN LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Delay in filing application for restoration in SLP (Criminal) No.6371 of 2010 is condoned.

(2.) On remand, the High Court held that Section 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act can be applied to the facts of the case as the incident took place about 23-1/2 years ago and no useful purpose will be served by sending the accused to jail at that stage. The High Court observed that the accused had not indulged in any further criminal activity since the date of their conviction in this case. The High Court further directed the accused to pay Rs.75,000/- as compensation to the complainant.

(3.) Aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court, the complainant and the State have preferred these appeals. Learned counsel for the complainant submitted that the High court committed a serious error in applying the Probation of Offenders Act to the instant case which is impermissible in law. According to him, the accused committed a serious crime by indulging in an offence falling under Section 326 IPC. The father of the appellant Pindi Dass and the brother of the appellant Ramesh Das had received serious injuries. The injuries suffered by Pindi Dass are as under: