IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 534 OF 2007
GAYA PRASAD .. APPELLANT(S)
vs.
STATE OF M.P. & ORS. .. RESPONDENT(S)
O
R D E R
This appeal has been filed impugning the judgment of
the High Court dated 13/2/2008 wherein the judgment of the
Additional Sessions Judge, Sidhi (M.P.) convicting the
appellants for an offence punishable under Sec.307 of the
Indian Penal Code and awarding a sentence of seven years
R.I. and a fine, has been modified to a conviction under
Sec.324/34 of the IPC.
During the hearing of this matter the learned
counsel for the appellant argued that as the parties were
closely related to each other and had since compromised the
dispute it was appropriate that the offence be compounded
and the appellant be acquitted. The learned counsel also
sought time to produce the complainant Bhagwan Dutta Mishra
before us. An elderly gentleman claiming that he was
Bhagwan Dutta Mishra has appeared before us today and
stated that he had no grievance against the appellant and
he would be happy if the matter was compounded. We
-2-
questioned the learned counsel for the parties as to
whether Bhagwan Dutta Mishra could be identified by any of
them. They rightly declined to do so and stated that only
the ipse dixit of the gentleman was available before us.
Keeping in view this fact we are not inclined to
compound the offence but as the dispute appears to have
been settled and in any case is a trivial one, we direct
that the appellants be released on probation under Section
4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, on conditions to
be settled by the Trial Court. The appeal is allowed to the
above extent.
……………..J.
(HARJIT SINGH BEDI)
……………..J.
(J.M. PANCHAL)
New Delhi,
November 10, 2009.