Page No.# 1/3 vs The State Of Assam And Anr
2025 Latest Caselaw 5314 Gua

Gauhati High Court

Page No.# 1/3 vs The State Of Assam And Anr on 13 June, 2025

Author: Manish Choudhury

Bench: Manish Choudhury

                                                                               Page No.# 1/3

GAHC010115592025




                                                                 2025:GAU-AS:7784-DB

                              THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
   (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

                                Case No. : I.A.(Crl.)/606/2025

            SUNIL HAMREN
            S/O. LT. ATUA HARMEN, R/O. PASCHIM BORAGAON, BAKULNAGAR
            UNDER GORCHUK POLICE STATION IN THE DISTRICT KAMRUP M



            VERSUS

            THE STATE OF ASSAM AND ANR.
            REP. BY THE PP, ASSAM.

            2:SUSHILA HAMREN
            W/O. SRI SUNIL HARMEN
             R/O. POSCHIM BORAGAON
             BAKULNAGAR UNDER GORCHUK POLICE STATION IN THE DISTRICT
            KAMRUP

Advocate for the Petitioner   : MR. U CHOUDHURY, FOR LEGAL AID

Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM,




                                    BEFORE
                   HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY
                    HONOURABLE MRS. JUSTICE MITALI THAKURIA

                                           ORDER

13.06.2025 [Manish Choudhury, J]

Heard Mr. U. Choudhury, learned Legal Aid Counsel for the applicant-appellant and Ms. Page No.# 2/3

S.H. Bora, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the opposite party 1-respondent State.

2. The instant application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 is preferred seeking condonation of delay of 119 days, which have occurred in preferring the accompanying criminal appeal. The accompanying criminal appeal is preferred against a Judgment dated 29.11.2024 and an Order on sentence dated 03.12.2024 passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge -cum- Special Judge, POCSO, Kamrup [M], Guwahati in Sessions [Special] Case no. 81/2023. By the Judgment and Order, the applicant-appellant has been convicted for the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and he has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for twenty-five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- with default stipulation.

3. We have gone through the statements and averments made in the instant application, more particularly, paragraph 5 thereof.

4. It is noticed that after delivery of the Judgment and Order on 29.11.2024, case papers were forwarded by the Guwahati Legal Aid Services Committee for legal assistance on 07.03.2025 and the accompanying criminal appeal has been filed on 27.05.2025. In the process, delay of 119 days in preferring the accompanying criminal appeal has occurred.

5. Ms. Bora, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the State has fairly submitted that since the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for twenty-five years, the interest of justice would be better sub-served if the accompanying criminal appeal is heard on merits by condoning the delay in preferring the accompanying appeal, after effecting service of notice upon the opposite party no. 2- informant.

6. Having gone through the statements and averments made in this application, we are of the considered view that the applicant-appellant has been able to make out a prima facie case showing sufficient cause for condonation of delay of 119 days in preferring the accompanying criminal appeal.

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7. We are also of the considered view that since the applicant-appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for twenty-five years, interest of justice will be better sub-served if the connected appeal is heard on merits after condoning the period of delay.

8. The instant application is allowed condoning the delay 119 days in preferring the connected appeal.

9. Issuance of notice to the opposite party no. 2-informant is dispensed with at this stage as the opposite party no. 2-informant will be heard when the accompanying criminal appeal is heard on merits, after ensuring service of notice, if the opposite party no. 2-informant chooses to appear.

10. The Registry to register the accompanying appeal and thereafter, to list the same in the admission column.

                                                 JUDGE                                     JUDGE



Comparing Assistant