The Tripura HC Monday reduced a convict’s punishment for throwing acid on his wife, noting that the wife’s repeated refusal to reunite with him was a “mitigating circumstance”.
A bench comprising Justice S. Talapatra & Justice S.G. Chattopadhyay observed, “This circumstance indicates that the appellant desired to restore his matrimonial relationship with his wife[PW-2] but his reluctant wife wasn't willing to reunite with him which might have caused a sense of frustration in the appellant.”
“We can't overlook this mitigating circumstance while deciding about the proportionality of the sentence to be awarded to the appellant for the crime committed by him,” it added.
While noting that there was enough evidence to prove the case against the man, Alamin Miah, the bench reduced the sentence of life imprisonment awarded to him, to a 10-year jail sentence which is the minimum mandatory sentence under Section 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid etc) of the IPC.
The court also acquitted him of charges under Section 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code. In doing so, it noted that the couple “belonged to the poor strata of society” & that “it was, therefore, not unlikely that there would be discord & differences in their domestic life”.
“Petty quarrels arising out of such discord”, it said, would not amount to cruelty under Section 498A.
It said that an offence under the section can be established only when it is shown that “appellant or his relatives subjected the victim to harassment with a view to coercing her or persons related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property etc.”
Fine reduced from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25,000
The court was hearing an appeal filed by Miah, challenging his April 2019 conviction by a sessions judge in Udaipur. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment, along with Rs 1 lakh fine for the victim.
Miah was convicted by the trial court under Sections 326A & 498A of the IPC.
The complaint in the case was filed by the wife, Momita’s father in Jan 2018, 10 months after the couple tied the knot. Momita had been living with her parents for 5 months before the incident, alleging that Miah was harassing her for dowry.
He had thrown acid on her on 13 Jan 2018, grievously injuring her.
The court now reduced his sentence, & also noted that Miah used to work as a day labourer & 20 per cent of the wages earned by him are also being deducted for the State Victim Compensation Fund. So the court reduced the fine imposed on him as well, from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 25,000.
It further noted that the Supreme Court has directed every acid attack victim to be paid compensation of at least Rs 3 lakhs by the state govt. It therefore directed the state govt to deposit the amount within 4 months with the trial court, after which the latter will give the amount to Momita.
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