Gaya Prasad vs State Of M.P. & Ors

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.