NARESH KUMAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this order we propose to decide three separate Criminal Appeals preferred by Naresh Kumar, Arun Kumar and Sanjeev, accused in FIR No. 965/07 to challenge the judgment dated 11.02.2009 and order on sentence dated 20.02.2010, whereby all the three appellants were convicted for committing an offence punishable under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code,1860, (hereinafter referred to as IPC) read with Section 34 IPC and sentenced to imprisonment for life with fine of Rs. 4000/- each and in default of payment of fine, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of nine months each. Appellant Naresh has also been convicted for committing an offence punishable under Section 397 of the IPC for which he has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years. Appellant Arun and Sanjeev have also been convicted for committing an offence punishable under Section 392 read with Section 34 of IPC, for which they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay fine of Rs.1,000/- each and in default thereof, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three months each.

(2.) "Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people"- F. M. Hubbard. The aforesaid quote rightly reveals what persuades people to indulge into unlawful acts, corrupt and criminal means to acquire riches, it is the quest for money but one cannot ignore that honesty and hard work are the verisimilitude of life that enables oneself to survive even in adverse conditions. Majority of people even today imbibe virtues of hard work and honesty in them, but the only gap that needs to be abridged is the difference in the thought process which varies from one man to another. All life demands struggle. Those who have acquired riches by corrupt means cannot brook the same for lifetime ignoring the clutches of law.

(3.) Tremendous increase in cases of robbery and dacoity has been noticed especially in the metropolitan cities. Robbery is considered as the easiest way to grab money, jewellery and valuable articles of others. To way lay people on deserted places, on highways and other isolated roads has become a very common practice for these criminals. Usually while committing offence of robbery or dacoity, these criminals end up committing more serious and horrendous offence of eliminating the victim of his life or attempting to murder such victim or causing grievous hurt. It is also an acknowledged fact that these criminals keep committing these crimes as their normal routine job till they are convicted and appropriately sentenced and even thereafter. A wave of these grisly crimes is sweeping across swathes of urban and small-town India. The continually rising graph makes us queasy. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics show that incidents and rates of violent crimes murder, kidnapping, dacoity, robbery, arson, dowry deaths have gone up dramatically in the past five years. Although 2010-2011 itself witnessed a 5-6 per cent spurt (National Crime Records Bureau). These numbers are also growing because it is one of the easiest ways to satisfy one's lust for money. Cases like chain snatching and pick pocketing have become so prominent in almost all the localities and neighborhoods. Undoubtedly, the State has to share its blame for not being able to provide good education to its citizens and to secure proper job opportunities or to settle the unemployed youth in small time avocations but at the same time the hard reality is that such kind of persons develop the habit of making easy and fast money instead of putting any hard work for their sustenance and livelihood. It is high time that the State should adopt some kind of measures to educate and sensitize the methods in regards to these criminals who keep indulging and repeating these crimes to earn their livelihood and also to start with some employment avenues and schemes for their proper rehabilitation so that they do not indulge or repeat such dreadful acts.