April 17, 2019:
Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of state simply on the ground that appeal filed by the complainant was already dismissed.
A bench of Justice Kaul and Justice Gupta has passed the order in case titled STATE OF RAJASTHAN vs HARI RAM on 04.04.2019.
High Court of Rajasthan had earlier in the year 2007 converted a murder conviction to that of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The Complainant preferred SLP before the Supreme Court in the year 2008. While that SLP was pending, the State also preferred SLP against the same judgment. Both the cases could not be connected.
The earlier case filed by the complainant was dismissed in the year 2016 by observing “In our considered view, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the High Court did not commit any error in altering the conviction of the accused – Hari Ram from Section 302 IPC to Section 304-II, IPC and sentencing him to the period already undergone by him, and of the accused – Bhana Ram from Section 326 IPC to Section 325 IPC, and thereby granting him the benefit of Sections 3 and 4 of the Probation of Offenders Act. The instant appeal is accordingly dismissed”.
When the appeal filed by the State came to be heard in the year 2019, the Supreme Court dismissed it on the ground that appeal filed by the complainant was already dismissed.
It observed and held “It is pointed out by learned counsel appearing for Respondent No.1 that an appeal against the same impugned order was filed by the complainant-Naina Ram, in which leave was granted on 19.9.2008, but it appears that inadvertently, the present appeal filed by the State was not tagged with the same. Criminal appeal No.1538/2008 filed by the complainant has since been dismissed on 3.3.2016. In view of the aforesaid, the present appeal is also dismissed. Pending application, if any, stands disposed of”.
Read the order here:
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