SONAM DADUL BHUTIA Vs. STATE OF SIKKIM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition has been preferred by the petitioners under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.) to quash the criminal proceedings arising out of First Information Report (FIR) No.25/2021 dtd. 17/8/2021 lodged against the petitioner nos. 1, 2 and 3 by the brother of petitioner no.4 (the victim). In the FIR it was alleged that the petitioner nos. 1, 2 and 3 had hit the petitioner no.4 inside the hotel and thereafter, again with a rod and knocked him unconscious to the ground.

(2.) The charge-sheet filed by the prosecution indicated that the victim and the complainant Yapchung Bhutia are brothers. The victim and the petitioner nos. 1, 2 and 3 were well known to each other. On 16/8/2021 the petitioners had all gathered at a restaurant at lower Pelling, West Sikkim for playing cards. While doing so they had consumed alcohol. The victim and the petitioner no.1 indulged in a verbal spat while playing cards and abused each other. The restaurant owner intervened and asked them to go home after taking them out of the restaurant. However, they continued to indulge in verbal altercation which led to a physical assault on the victim. The petitioner no.2 attacked the victim with an iron rod resulting in injuries to him. The victim was thereafter evacuated to the district hospital where he was treated. Accordingly, the prosecution filed the charge-sheet finding prima facie case against the petitioner nos.1, 2 and 3 under Sec. 326/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). On 25/2/2022 the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate framed charges against the petitioner nos. 1, 2 and 3 under Sec. 326/34 of the IPC. The examinations of the prosecution witnesses are yet to commence.

(3.) Sec. 326 IPC relates to voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means. The punishment prescribed for the offence is imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. The brutality of the offence would be the deciding factor to determine the quantum of sentence along with other relevant considerations.