P&H HC: Eyewitness Account Not Credible if Eyewitness Directly Identifies Accused in Court  ||  Delhi HC: Conditions u/s 45 PMLA Have to Give Way to Article 21 When Accused Incarcerated for Long  ||  Delhi High Court: Delhi Police to Add Grounds of Arrest in Arrest Memo  ||  Kerala High Court: Giving Seniority on the Basis of Rules is a Policy Decision  ||  Del. HC: Where Arbitrator has Taken Plausible View, Court Cannot Interfere u/s 34 of A&C Act  ||  Ker. HC: No Question of Estoppel Against Party Where Error is Committed by Court Itself  ||  Supreme Court: Revenue Entries are Admissible as Evidence of Possession  ||  SC: Mere Breakup of Relationship Between Consenting Couple Can’t Result in Criminal Proceedings  ||  SC: Bar u/s 195 CrPC Not Attracted Where Proceedings Initiated Pursuant to Judicial Order  ||  NTF Gives Comprehensive Suggestions on Enhancing Better Working Conditions of Medical Professions    

Maila vs. The State - (23 Jan 2023)

Sentencing or punishment is pre-eminently a matter of discretion of the trial court, A court exercising appellate jurisdiction cannot, interfere in the absence of a material misdirection

Criminal

In present case, the Appellant was convicted of the rape of his 9-year-old niece and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Regional Court. The issues for determination is whether the Appellant was properly convicted on the evidence of a single witness; and whether the trial court correctly admitted the warning statement – which was illegally obtained – and in which he incriminated himself.

The regional Court was correct to accept the evidence of the complainant as satisfactory in all material respects. Thus, the appellant was properly convicted on the evidence of a single witness. With regard to the appellant’s version, the SCA found that there were improbabilities in the appellant’s version in general and, in particular, his alibi. As a result, the evidence, when viewed in its totality and excluding the warning statement of the appellant, proved the appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Consequently, the appeal against the conviction had to fail.

It is trite that sentencing or punishment is pre-eminently a matter of discretion of the trial court. A court exercising appellate jurisdiction cannot, in the absence of a material misdirection by the trial court, approach the question of sentence as if it were the trial court and then substitute the sentence arrived at by it simply because it prefers it. To do so would be to usurp the sentencing discretion of the trial court.

The regional magistrate did not commit any misdirection in imposing the prescribed sentence of life imprisonment. The regional court had regard to the basic triad of sentencing; it noted the following as aggravating circumstances: the Appellant was the complainant’s maternal uncle and in a position of trust – who is ‘supposed to protect and love’ the complainant and not abuse her; and it took into account the seriousness of the offence and the prevalence of rape in the region. There were no compelling and substantial circumstances to justify a lesser sentence. Appeal dismissed.

Tags : CONVICTION   EVIDENCE   CREDIBILITY  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2024 - All Rights Reserved