Case Number

CRL.A. 157/2013

Equivalent Citation

247 (2018) DLT 31

Bench

Justice S Muralidhar, Justice IS Mehta 

Decided On

November 30, 2017

Relevant Act/Section

• Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
• The Indian Electricity Act, 1910
• The Indian Penal code
• The Companies Act, 1956

Brief Facts and Procedural History

An exhaustive judgment given on September 15, 2016, allowed the allure. Notwithstanding, on that date, the Court gave a different choice featuring three worries that emerged in a bigger setting and selected Prof. (Dr.) G.S. Bajpai, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and Registrar, National Law University, Delhi, as amicus curiae to give guidance.

Issues before the Court

• Is the substantive law and procedure relating to the default in payment of a fine?
• Whether the existing law on suspension of sentence under Section 389 CrPC?
• Whether there is any provision that may enable the Court to suspend the order of conviction as normally what is suspended is the execution of the sentence?

Decision of the Court:

The Supreme Court communicated in Palaniappa Gounder v. State of Tamil Nadu¹ that “the fine discipline ought not to be pointlessly lavish”.

“However, there is the capacity to integrate a sentence of death or life imprisonment with a sentence of fine,” it was added. “That power should be polished with caution, considering that the life sentence is an outrageous discipline to force, and adding a fine to that grave discipline is not completely resolved to fill any accommodating need.”.”

The Supreme Court reaffirmed on account of Shantilal v. the State of M.P. that there was a total abuse of the arrangement of frameworks in Sections 63 to 70 IPC, causing legal to notice the instance of Shahejadkhan Mahebubkhan Pathan v. the State of Gujarat, where the Supreme Court totally abused the arrangement of frameworks in Sections 63 to 70 IPC.

Nonetheless, detainment for non-installment of fines is in another equilibrium. In the place where such a sentence is implemented, an individual is supposed to be detained in light of the fact that the person can’t pay the fine or won’t pay the fine. We are of the assessment that it is the occupant of the Court to keep an assessment of the case, the conditions under which it is held, the area of the case, the litigant, and other significant contemplations, for instance, the monetary conditions of the respondent in regard of and how much the offense prior to requesting that the culprit endure detainment when the individual in question is fined. The arrangements of Sections 63 to 70 of the IPC specify that the punishment rate ought not to be brutal or nonsensical. We additionally stress that in the case of a basic term of detainment, outlandish fines ought not to be forced by some other means than uncommon offenses. “

Clearly, no preparation is honored with use and purified in time that can’t be permitted to win in a circumstance where it attempts to cause disgrace. Each activity of the Court should be trailed by its governmental policy regarding minorities in society because of authentic worries about uniformity. Preparing not to give bail to an individual condemned to life detainment was going on in the High Courts and in this Court on the premise that assuming an individual is considered fit for preliminary and condemned to life detainment, the person ought not to be delivered. , as long as his endless sentence can be saved, yet the fundamental reason for this preparing was that the enticement of such an individual would be disposed of throughout some undefined time frame, so it was expected that he, at last, appeared to be dependable, he would have no need to endlessly remain in jail. The thought of this preparation may not have any significant bearing in the event that the Court isn’t in that frame of mind of interest for five or six years. Without a doubt, it would be a wrongdoing to compare and save an individual from jail for a time of five or six years for wrongdoing that at last seems to have not been carried out. When could the Court at any point pay him for his apparently outrageous captures? It would be fair regardless for the Court to tell the person: “We have admitted your enchantment as we suspect you are at legitimate fault for your appearance, yet tragically we have not had the potential chance to hear your temptation for a long time and, subsequently, up to this point. We hear your enticement, you ought to remain in jail, regardless of the way that you are straightforward? “the adjudicator could never have been overwhelmed by regret while eliminating such an individual in the wake of hearing the enticement? Could it not be an assault on his feeling of equity? in the past it ought to be reconsidered for quite a while as this Court isn’t in that frame of mind of hearing the temptation of the denounced as soon as possible, the Court ought to, except if there is valid justification to make a move regardless, delivering the indicted individual in situations where exceptional leave is taken into account the respondent to apply for conviction and sentence. “

Section 389 (1) states that in the repercussions of any allure against a respondent, the Court of Appeal may because it must be recorded as a held duplicate, demand that the sentence or allure be suspended in like manner, guaranteeing that he had the power, to be delivered on bail, or on his bond. This proviso acquaints the non-select power with suspending the condemning and award bail and notwithstanding suspending the activity of the basic allure.

This issue was completely inspected by a three-judge bench of this Court in Rama Narang v. Ramesh Narang and Ors.²

The legal position, appropriately, is clear that the Court of Appeal may suspend or grant an application for sentencing. However, the person wishing to remain guilty must clearly state the consideration of the Court reversing the consequences of his or her conviction. Unless the Court’s decision is based on the possible consequences of a conviction, the convicted person will not be able to apply for conviction. In addition, the reward for remaining guilty can be converted to extraordinary cases depending on the shocking facts of the case. “

The legal status of the Supreme Court under Section 389 of the CrPC is very clear, it is enough for this Court to repeat it.

There is a real need, right, for a formal (proper) administration to provide relief and rehabilitation for the injured through extrajudicial executions and arrests. Whether this should be a law that governs everything or a system that specifically addresses the needs of the survivor, and those who are unjustly imprisoned, including the family and guardians of the detainee, or these should be governed by different rules or arrangements for discussion, consideration, and consultation with The purpose of the article is to pay for those who are unjustly detained, questions about the circumstances and circumstances in which such assistance can be obtained, in what structure and at what stage and are matters for consideration. This is the best work left in the main case of a body tasked with informing government officials of control measures expected to fill an undeniable hole.

The Court, appropriately, compels the Indian Law Commission to attempt a thorough investigation of the matter referred to in paragraphs 11 to 16 of this application and to make its recommendation to the Government of India.

Conclusion

In this case, the Delhi High Court expressed profound concern over the plight of innocent people who have been unfairly convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. The Court emphasized the urgent need for a legislative framework to provide relief and rehabilitation to victims of wrongful prosecution and incarceration and urged the Law Commission to conduct a thorough review of the aforementioned issues and submit recommendations to the Indian government.

In the current state of the criminal justice system in the country, an adequate reaction from the state to victims of a miscarriage of justice resulting in erroneous prosecutions is absent. There is also no statutory or regulatory framework detailing the state’s approach to the problem.

According to the solicitation made by the court, the Law Commission of India introduced a report to the Government of India in August 2018 named “Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice): Legal Remedies.” In this paper, the point is analyzed with regard to the Indian law enforcement framework, and the expression “wrongful prosecution” is suggested as the limit for a miscarriage of justice, rather than “wrongful conviction” and “wrongful imprisonment.” ‘Wrongful prosecution’ alludes to circumstances in which the blamed isn’t blameworthy for the wrongdoing, however, the police and additionally prosecution are occupied with bad behavior in exploring or potentially indicting the individual.

It would cover both cases in which the person served time in jail and those in which he did not; as well as those in which the accused was found not guilty by the trial court or was convicted by one or more courts but was ultimately found not guilty by the Higher Court. The report provides an outline of the various legal remedies and evaluates their shortcomings (also noted by the High Court in the aforementioned Order).

As a result, the Commission recommends enactment of a specific legal provision for wrongful prosecution redress – to provide monetary and non-monetary compensation to victims of wrongful prosecution within a statutory framework (such as counseling, mental health services, vocational / employment skills development, and so on). The Report lays out the core principles of the proposed framework, including defining “wrongful prosecution,” or cases in which a claim for compensation can be filed, naming a Special Court to hear these claims, the nature of the proceedings – timelines for deciding the claim, etc., financial and other factors to be considered in determining compensation, provisions for interim compensation in certain cases, and removing disqualification due to wrongful prosecution.

Hence, a legal (ideally legislative) framework for giving relief and rehabilitation to victims of wrongful prosecution and incarceration is urgently needed. In addition to the topic of paying persons who have been unfairly imprisoned, consideration should be given to the situations and conditions under which such relief would be available, as well as the form and stage at which such relief would be provided.

Citations:

1. (1977) 2 SCC 634
2. (1995) 2 SCC 513

This case analysis is done by Arryan Mohanty, a 2nd Year Student student of Symbiosis Law School.