IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.1101 OF 2002
Krishan Lal and Anr.
...Appellant(s)
Versus
State (U.T. Chandigarh) ...Respondent(s)
With Criminal Appeal No.1102 of 2002
O R D E R
We have heard learned counsel for the parties. The appellants, along with other accused, were
convicted for the offence under Sections 307/148/149/332/333/427/452/437 of the Indian Penal Code [for short, `I.P.C'] by the Additional Sessions Judge, Chandigarh. The High Court, in Criminal Appeal No.211 of 1988, convicted appellants Krishan Lal and Piara Lal under Section 332 I.P.C. and sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months and appellant Surjan Singh was convicted under Section 333 I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo rigourous imprisonment for two years and to pay fine of Rupees five hundred; in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of six months. Aggrieved by the order of conviction and sentence, the appellants are before us in afore-mentioned criminal appeals.
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The incident occurred in the year 1981 and nearly, three decades have gone by. At this stage, in our opinion, it is not necessary to go into the details of the merits of the case pleaded by the learned counsel for the parties to the lis. In this view of the matter, without going into the merits of the case, we feel that ends of justice would be met if the sentence is reduced to the period of sentence already undergone by the accused.
In this view of the matter, keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, while disposing of these appeals, we reduce the sentence to the period already undergone.
The bail bonds of the appellants, who are on bail, are discharged.
......................J. [H.L. DATTU]
......................J. [K.S. RADHAKRISHNAN] New Delhi, April 27, 2010.