Chattisgarh High Court
Manoj Kumar vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 23 February, 2001
Equivalent citations: 2001(2)MPHT13(CG)
Author: R.S. Garg
Bench: R.S. Garg
JUDGMENT R.S. Garg, J.
1. The applicant being aggrieved by the judgment dated 16-2-2001 passed in Criminal Appeal No. 96/99 by the learned Second Addl. Sessions Judge, Raigarh has filed this revision petition.
2. For an offence punishable under Section 379, IPC the police after investigation filed the challan. The Judicial Magistrate First Class registered Criminal Case No. 131/98. The said trial resulted in conviction of the applicant and the learned Trial Court was pleased to award rigorous imprisonment for one year and imposed fine of Rs. 200/-, in default of payment of fine the applicant was required to go three month's imprisonment.
3. The learned counsel for the applicant submits that the judgment dated 16-2-2001 is not only cryptic and cavalier, but in fact does not meet the mandatory requirement of law. Learned counsel submits that a perusal of the judgment would show that the Court below has refused to apply its mind to the facts of the case and has simply decided the appeal on question of sentence. He submits that non-consideration of the applicant's case on the merits of the matter has caused serious prejudice to the defence of the applicant and the applicant deserves to be acquitted.
4. After going through the judgment passed by the learned Appellate Court, Shri Gautam Bhaduri learned counsel for the State, was unable to support the same. He however submitted that instead of deciding the matter on merits, the same be remitted to the first Appellate Court or to the learned Sessions Court for its fresh hearing and disposal in accordance with the law.
5. Section 353 of the Code of Criminal Procedure reads as under :--
"353. (1) The judgment in every trial in any Criminal Court of original jurisdiction shall be pronounced in open Court by the presiding officer immediately after the termination of the trial or at some subsequent time of which notice shall be given to the parties on their pleaders,--
(a) by delivering the whole of the judgment; or
(b) by reading out the whole of the judgment; or
(c) by reading out the operative part of the judgment and explaining the substance of the judgment in a language which is understood by the accused or his pleader.
(2) Where the judgment is delivered under clause (a) of sub-section (1), the presiding officer shall cause it to be taken down in shorthand, sign the transcript and every page thereof as soon as it is made ready, and write on it the date of the delivery of the judgment in open Court.
(3) Where the judgment or the operative part thereof is read out under clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (1), as the case may be, it shall be dated and signed by the presiding officer in open Court, and if it is not written with his own hand, every page of the judgment shall be signed by him.
(4) Where the judgment is pronounced in the manner specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1), the whole judgment or a copy thereof shall be immediately made available for the perusal of the parties or their pleaders free of cost.
(5) If the accused is in custody, he shall be brought up to hear the judgment pronounced.
(6) If the accused is not in custody, he shall be required by the Court to attend to hear the judgment pronounced, except where his personal attendance during the trial has been dispensed with and the sentence is one of fine only or he is acquitted. Provided that, where there are more accused than one, and one or more of them do not attend the Court on the date on which the judgment is to he pronounced, the presiding officer may, in order to avoid undue delay in the disposal of the case, pronounce the judgment notwithstanding their absence.
(7) No judgment delivered by any Criminal Court shall be deemed to be invalid by reason only of the absence of any party or his pleader on the day or from the place notified for the delivery thereof, or of any omission to serve, or defect in serving, on the parties or their pleaders, or any of them, the notice of such day and place.
(8) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit in any way the extent of the provisions of Section 465."
6. Section 354 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which would also be profitable to the Court, reads as under :--
"354. (1) Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Code, every judgment referred to in Section 353,--
(a) shall be written in the language of the Court;
(b) shall contain the point or points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision;
(c) shall specify the offence (if any) of which, and the section of the Indian Penal Code, or other law under which, the accused is convicted and the punishment to which he is sentenced;
(d) if it be a judgment of acquittal, shall state the offence of which the accused is acquitted and direct that he be set at liberty.
(2) When the conviction is under the Indian Penal Code and it is doubtful under which of two sections, or under which of two parts of the same section, of that Code the offence falls, the Court shall distinctly express the same, and pass judgment in the alternative.
(3) When the conviction is for an offence punishable with death or, in the alternative, with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of years, the judgment shall state the reasons for the sentence awarded, and, in the case of sentence of death, the special reasons for such sentence.
(4) When the conviction is for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of one year or more, but the Court imposes a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than three months, it shall record its reasons for awarding such sentence, unless the sentence is one of imprisonment till the rising of the Court or unless the case was tried summarily under the provisions of this Code.
(5) When any person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall direct that he be hanged by the neck till he is dead.
(6) Every order under Section 117 or sub-section (2) of Section 138 and every final order made under Section 125, Section 145 or Section 147 shall contain the point or points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decisions."
7. Section 353, Cr.P.C. provides the manner in which a judgment is to be delivered. Section 354, Cr.P.C. declares what a judgment should contain. 'Judgment' means, the expression of the opinion of the Judge or Magistrate, arrived at after due consideration of the evidence and of the arguments.
8. It is a fundamental rule that the judgment should contain the discussion on the merits of the matter and if the judgment is casual, cavalier or perfunctory, then it causes a loss to the Appellate or Revisional Court in appreciating the reasonings of the said Court which has recorded particular findings. A judgment should not be sans of the reasons. A Criminal Appellate Court has no authority under the law to dispose of the judgment simply by saying that it agrees with the findings recorded by the Trial Court.
9. The learned first Appellate Court has disposed of the appeal simply saying that in convicting the appellant, the Court below did not commit any error. If this is the sum total of the discussion, findings and the reasons, the appellate judgment is no judgment in the eyes of law.
10. The learned Judge in the second paragraph of its judgment has observed that the accused had undergone the agony of the trial and the Court below was unjustified in not mentioning the details of the period already undergone by the accused. In the last paragraph of the judgment, the learned Appellate Judge has observed that leniency in awarding the sentence was required to be applied. He reduced the jail sentence of one year to six months. This is the sum total of the judgment.
11. I tried to read and find some discussion about the facts of the case, the evidence and the merits, but I failed in my attempt. I tried to find some reasonings for confirming the conviction, but I again failed. I tried to search for some discussion in the judgment, but I failed in the said effort also.
12. A bare perusal of Section 354, Cr.P.C. should guide every Judge and should require him to write a judgment in accordance with law. A judgment should contain the points for determination, the decision and the reasons for the decision. The particular offence, relevant sections under which the accused is punished and the quantum of punishment should also be mentioned. The language and contents of the judgment must be self-contained and should show that the Magistrate/Judge had applied his mind to the facts and the evidence.
13. The judgment should state sufficient particulars to enable a Court of appeal or Revisional Court to know what facts were proved and how. An order/judgment which does not embody the reasons which weigh with a Court in arriving at a decision may expose the Court to the charge that it did not apply its mind in the case and, therefore, the order is caprivious, casual, cavalier, perfunctory and arbitrary. When the order finally deciding a case is self-contained, refers to the evidence, discusses the same and records the reasonings to arrive to a finding, only then it is called a speaking order.
14. Though a Court is not required to make a resume of the entire evidence and a Court is further entitled to select such evidence as it considers important and sufficient to prove the point in dispute, the Court is still obliged to discuss the evidence, marshal and scrutinise the same and record its reasonings for arriving to a particular finding.
15. Section 354, Cr.P.C. applies to a judgment of an Appellate Court also. Where the judgment of the Appellate Court merely states that the Lower Court's order contains full statements of facts, the appreciation of the evidence was correct and the appellants' arguments were not convincing, then the said judgment would fail to satisfy the requirements of Section 354, Cr.P.C. In such a case, the irregularity would vitiate the judgment. It is expected of an Appellate Court that it must write a judgment, from which the High Court/Revisional Court can gather what the decision really is, that is, in general, sufficient compliance with Section 354, Cr.P.C.
16. A fair reading of Section 354, Cr.P.C. would make it abundantly clear that unless otherwise expressly provided by the Code of Criminal Proce-
dure, every judgment referred to in Section 353, Cr.P.C. shall be written in the language of the Court, should contain the points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision. A Court is obliged to specify the offence (if any) of which, and the Section of Indian Penal Code, or other law under which, the accused is convicted and the punishment to which he is sentenced. If it be a judgment of acquittal, then the Court is obliged to state the offence of which the accused is acquitted and the Court is duty bound to direct that he be set at liberty. Sub-section (3) of Section 354, Cr.P.C. casts a duty on the Court to give reasons which persuaded it to record certain findings, so that the Appellate or Revisional Court is in a position to judge whether the Trial/ Appellate Court had exercised its discretion judicially.
17. When the judgment of the Court below is examined on the anvil of Sections 353 and 354, Cr.P.C. it would fail to satisfy all and every test.
18. The judgment delivered by the Court below cannot be termed to be a judgment in accordance with Sections 353 and 354, Cr.P.C. It shows absolute non-application of mind. The judgment is bad on the facts, so also in view of the legal provisions.
19. Assuming present was a case where the appeal was argued only on the question of sentence, then too the Appellate Court was obliged to record the findings and instead of straight-way jumping to the question of sentence it should have first appreciated the facts, record a finding and thereafter looking to the totality of the circumstances and taking into consideration the nature of the offence, the manner in which it was committed and the station of the accused in the life, his status, etc., should have considered the question of sentence. If present was a case of plea-bargaining, then the judgment again would be bad because the Supreme Court had been repeatedly saying that plea-bargaining is bad. A person, if is not guilty, is required to be acquitted and if a person is found guilty, then sentence in accordance with law and in view of the totality of the circumstances must be awarded. The judgment delivered by the learned Court below does not meet the mandatory requirement of law. It deserves to and is accordingly set-aside. The Appellate Court is hereby directed to restore the appeal to its original number and decide the same in accordance with law after hearing the parties.
20. The Appellate Court shall release the appellant on bail, if an application for suspension of the execution of the sentence is submitted by the accused-appellant before it.
21. Criminal Revision allowed.