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Synopsis

Noting that the wife wanted to revive her matrimonial life, the Supreme Court reduced the punishment imposed on a man (husband) convicted under Section 498A Indian Penal Code.

A division bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Vikram Nath ordered, “We, however, reduce the punishment of rigorous imprisonment to the period already undergone by the appellant in incarceration.”

The court was hearing an appeal filed by one Randeep Singh against the decision of the High Court in its revisional jurisdiction, which upheld his conviction by the Trial Court and the Appellate Court- the Sessions Court.

Singh was convicted under Section 498A of IPC, and the Trial Court, after finding the appellant guilty, had imposed a two-year sentence as well as a default sentence for failure to pay an Rs.3,000 fine. The Appellate Court had also upheld his conviction and sentence. The High Court in its revisional jurisdiction as well had upheld the conviction but reduced the substantive sentence to six months.

The division bench of the top court stated that they find did not find any "reason to interfere" with Singh's conviction as there were concurrent factual findings and that there was no perversity in the judgment assailed in the instant appeal.

However, during the hearing, the counsel for the complainant-wife contended that she did not wish to contest the current appeal and wished to rejoin her husband and resume their matrimonial life.

Accordingly, the court reduced Singh’s punishment of rigorous imprisonment to the time he has already spent in incarceration and disposed of the application.

The provision concerned: 

“Section 498A. Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty- Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty shall be pun­ished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.”

Case Title: Randeep Singh v. State of U.T. Chandigarh & Anr.