Chattisgarh High Court
Ramphal Banjare vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 20 August, 2025
1
Digitally signed
by BHOLA
NATH KHATAI
Date:
2025.08.22
10:56:52 +0530
2025:CGHC:42228
NAFR
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
CRR No. 1518 of 2019
1 - Ramphal Banjare S/o Keduram Banjare Aged About 60 Years
R/o Village Hardikala Tona, Police Station Sirgitti Tehsil
Bilaspur, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh.
2 - Mukesh Banjare S/o Ramphal Banjare Aged About 26 Years
R/o Village Hardikala Tona, Police Station Sirgitti Tehsil
Bilaspur, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh.
... Applicants
versus
State Of Chhattisgarh Through Arakshi Center, Sirgitti Tehsil
Bilaspur District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh.
... Respondent
For Applicants : Mr. Basant Dewangan, Advocate
For Respondent : Ms. Priya Sharma, P.L.
Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal
Judgment on Board
20/08/2025
1. The present revision has been filed challenging the
judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated
20.11.2019 passed by learned 7th Additional Session Judge,
Bilaspur (C.G.), in Criminal Appeal No.207/2019 affirming
the judgment passed by the CJM, Bilaspur in Criminal
Case No.13085/15 whereby the applicants have been
convicted and sentenced as under :
Conviction Sentence
Rigorous imprisonment for 2 years
U/s 325/34 of with fine of Rs.2,000/-, in default of
IPC payment of fine, additional simple
imprisonment for 3 months.
2. The case of prosecution, in short, is that on 14.11.2015, the
applicants were gambling with the villagers in the old house
of complainant Shriram Prasad Banjare. When the
complainant objected to this, the applicants abused and
assaulted him with fists, due to which four teeth of the
complainant were dislodged. Based on the report lodged by
the complainant, a case was registered against the
applicants for the aforesaid offence.
3. So as to hold the applicants guilty, the prosecution has
examined as many as 08 witnesses and exhibited 08
documents. The statements of the applicants were also
recorded under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C. in which they
denied the circumstances appearing against them and
pleaded innocence and false implication in the case
4. After appreciation of the oral and documentary evidence
available on record, the trial Court vide judgment dated
28.08.2019 in Criminal Case No.13085/2015 convicted and
sentenced the applicants as mentioned in paragraph-1 of
this judgment. Learned Appellate Court vide impugned
judgment dated 20.11.2019 affirming the judgment of the
trial Court dismissed the appeal preferred by the applicants
leading to the filing of this criminal revision.
5. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that he is not
pressing the revision so far as the conviction part of the
impugned judgment is concerned and would confine his
argument to the sentence part thereof only. He submits
that the maximum sentence imposed upon the applicants
is 2 years, out of which they have already served the jail
sentence of about 3 months & 6 days. He prays that the
sentence imposed upon the applicants may be reduced to
the period already undergone by them and they may be
released from jail.
6. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the State,
supporting the impugned judgment, opposed the
arguments advanced on behalf of the counsel for
applicants.
7. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the
record.
8. Dr. C. L. Kaushik (PW-5) on examining the injured found
the following injuries:
1. Due to injury in the upper jaw his teeth were dislodged
and the patient was holding four teeth in his hand.
2. There was swelling and tenderness in the right arm.
3. The patient complained of a headache.
Dr. C. L. Kaushik referred the injured to a dental specialist
for injury No.1 and the remaining injuries were of simple
nature.
9. Dentist Dr. A. K. Maini (PW-7), on examining the mouth of
the injured found that the central incisor, lateral incisor
and canine of the upper jaw on the left side and the central
incisor on the right side were missing and had wounds
equal to the length of the root.
10. Having gone through the material available on record and
the statements of the complainant Shriram Banjare (PW-1)
his wife Dukhin Bai (PW-2), brother-in-law Nakchhed
(PW-3), Dr. C. L. Kaushik (PW-5), Dr. A. K. Maini (PW-7)
and their medical reports, the involvement of the applicants
in the crime in question is clearly established. This Court
does not see any illegality in the findings recorded by the
Trial Court and confirmed by the appellate Court regarding
conviction of the applicants for the offence punishable
under Section 325/34 of IPC.
11. As regards sentence, in the matter of Mohammad
Giasuddin v. State of Andhra Pradesh reported in (1977)
3 SCC 287, Hon'ble Supreme Court has observed that if
you are to punish a man retributively, you must injure him.
If you are to reform him, you must improve him and, men
are not improved by injuries and held in para-9 as follows:
"9. Western jurisprudes and 'sociologists, from their own
angle have struck a like note. Sir Samual Romilly, critical
of the brutal penalties in the then Britain, said in 1817 :
"The laws of England are written in blood". Alfieri has
suggested : 'society prepares the crime, the criminal
commits it'. George Nicodotis, Director of Criminological
Research Centre, Athens, Greece, maintains that 'Crime
is the result of the lack of the right kind of education.' It
is thus plain that crime is a pathological aberration, that
the criminal can ordinarily be redeemed, that the State
has to rehabilitate rather than avenge. The sub-culture
that leads to anti-social behaviour has to be countered
not by undue cruelty but by re-culturisation. Therefore,
the focus of interest in penology is the individual, and
goal is salvaging him for society. The infliction of harsh
and savage punishment is thus a relic of past and
regressive times. The human today views sentencing as a
process of reshaping a person who has deteriorated into
criminality and the modern community has a primary
stake in the rehabilitation of the offender as a means of
social defense. We, therefore consider a therapeutic,
rather than an in 'terrorem' outlook, should prevail in our
criminal courts, since brutal incarceration of the person
merely produces laceration of his mind. In the words of
George Bernard Shaw : 'If you are to punish a man
retributively, you must injure him. If you are to reform
him, you must improve him and, men are not improved
by injuries'. We may permit ourselves the liberty to quote
from Judge Sir Jeoffrey Streatfield : "If you are going to
have anything to do with the criminal Courts, you should
see for yourself the conditions under which prisoners
serve their sentences."
12. In the light of the decision of the Supreme Court in the case
of Mohammad Giasuddin (supra) and keeping in view the
fact that the maximum sentence imposed upon the
applicants is 2 years, out of which they have already served
the jail sentence of about 3 months & 6 days and also
considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case,
this Court is of the opinion that the ends of justice would
serve if the applicants are sentenced to the period already
undergone by them.
13. Accordingly, the conviction of the applicants under Section
325/34 of IPC is maintained but their jail sentence is
reduced to the period already undergone by them i.e. 3
months & 6 days. However, the fine of Rs.2,000/- imposed
upon the applicants is enhanced to Rs.10,000/- each i.e. a
total of Rs.20,000/- which shall be payable to the injured
Shriram Prasad Banjare. In default of payment of enhanced
fine amount, the applicants shall be liable to undergo R.I.
for 6 months. The fine amount already deposited by the
applicants shall be adjusted.
14. Consequently, the Criminal Revision stands allowed in part
to the extent indicated herein-above.
15. The applicants are on bail, they need not surrender,
however, their bail bonds shall remain in force for a period
of six months in view of the provisions contained in Section
437A of the CrPC.
16. Record of the trial Court along with a copy of this judgment
be sent back forthwith for compliance and necessary
action, if any.
Sd/-
(Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal)
JUDGE
Khatai
