Punjab and Haryana High Court: Deciding a revision petition filed against the judgment passed by the trial court which held the petitioners as well as two other accused guilty of committing an offence punishable under Section 4-B/8 of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, the bench of Hari Pal Verma, J., held that the trial court has rightly appreciated the evidence on record while holding the petitioners guilty of the charge framed against them.
In a case where an FIR was registered against the petitioners under Section 4-B/8 of the 1955 Act, the trial court sentenced the accused to undergo simple imprisonment for six months and to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/- each. Aggrieved against this judgment, the petitioners and two other accused, filed two appeals which were dismissed. So, the petitioners preferred the present revision petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court praying that the sentence awarded to all the petitioners be reduced to the period already undergone by them. On the other hand, the State Council contended that as the petitioners have committed a serious crime which has caused hurt to the religious sentiments of people at large so they should not be showed any leniency.
In the light of the above arguments, the Court held that there is no infirmity, illegality or perversity in the findings given by both the Courts. The court further directed that the sentence awarded to the petitioners shall be reduced to the period already undergone by them subject to their payment of cost of Rs.9,000/- each. However, the sentence of fine imposed by the trial Court and affirmed by the appellate Court shall remain intact. Hence the court opined that except with modification in the quantum of sentence, as indicated herein above, the revision petition stands dismissed. [Mohd. Aslam v. State of Haryana, 2016 SCC OnLine P&H 4226, decided 13 May 2016]
