The Supreme Court of India, on 08.02.2019, in STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH v VIKRAM DAS[1] , had allowed the appeal that had been made by the State which challenged the High Court of Judicature of Madhya Pradesh’s order at Jabalpur, which had sentenced the respondent for the offence punishable under Section 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, to the sentence that already been undergone, however, the fine had been enhanced to an amount of Rs. 3000/- to Rs.500/-.
The High Court’s order was passed in connection to the appeal that had been made by respondent against the trial court’s order by which the respondent had to face conviction under the aforesaid Act followed by a sentence of rigorous imprisonment for a term of six months along with a fine imposed of Rs. 500/-.
DECISION HELD BY THE APEX COURT:
When an appeal was made in the Supreme Court of India, the Apex Court while allowing the appeal and set8ing aside the High Court’s order held that Courts cannot impose anything less than a minimum sentence when a minimum sentence has already been specified while further upholding that one cannot resort to the provisions as mentioned in Article 142 of the Constitution for imposing a sentence that is sentence less than the minimum prescribed sentence. Hence, the High Court cannot award a sentence which is less than the prescribed minimum sentence as provided by the Statute and that the remaining sentence that imposed upon the respondent for undergoing shall continue to remain under the offence in the abovementioned Act.
[1] Full Judgment:
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