VISHAL S AWTANI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Concept of community service is widely accepted and implemented world over including some States in India. For the first time Community Service programmes began in the United States with female traffic offenders in Alameda County, California in 1966. Gradually it has spread all over and is a useful tool used as a deterrent for petty violations of law.

(2.) What is community service? Is it a sentence or punishment or reparation or reformation? We may record here that community service is not a punishment in its true sense but it is a kind of reparation. In a document prepared by Christopher Bright under the program of Prison Fellowship International, the concept of community service is very well explained. We quote hereunder relevant extract from the said document :

(3.) There are certain benefits of community service. The violators turn out to be a great resource for the state government / administration / non governmental organisations. It provides an opportunity to the offender / violator to have a first hand experience of the injuries caused or could be caused by him. It gives a constructive means of repairing the wrong done by him. It also gives an opportunity to the violator to improve and become more responsible.