PINKI Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal appeal under Section 374 of CrPC has been filed against the judgment and sentence dated 04.08.2016 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Karera, District Shivpuri in S.S.T. No.16/2015, by which the appellant has been convicted under Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of Rs.5,000/- with default imprisonment of three months.

(2.) At the outset, counsel for the appellant submitted that since the appellant is in jail from 24.02.2015 and he has completed more than seven years including remission, therefore, he may be sentenced to the period already undergone by him.

(3.) The submission made by the counsel for the appellant cannot be considered unless and until the case is considered on merits. However, the counsel for the appellant did not argue on merits and stick to his submission that the appellant may be punished with the period already undergone by him. In the light of judgment passed by the Supreme Court in the case of Nagpal Traders Vs. Davinder Singh reported in (2017) 11 SCC 431, the question of sentence cannot be decided unless and until the appeal is decided on merits. Accordingly, this Court is left with no other option but to consider the merits of the case on its own after going through the record.