Punjab and Haryana High Court: Hari Pal Verma, J. dismissed the appeal application against the judgment passed by the Additional Sessions judge.
An application was filed by the State for the grant of leave to appeal against the judgment passed by the Additional Session Judge whereby the respondent-accused was acquitted of the charges leveled under Section 3(1)(xi) of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 but was convicted and sentenced under Sections 341, 354-A, 354-D and 506 of the Penal Code.
The allegations made against the accused were that when complainant alighted from the bus, the respondent intercepted her and started harassing her sexually. However, when the complainant screamed, many persons gathered there on the spot and the complainant was rescued from his clutches. The complainant was frightened and when she was proceeding towards her office, the accused suddenly appeared and extended threat to her life and the family members of the complainant. He also threatened to kill her child after the kidnapping.
The counsel argued that respondent extended threat to the complainant to kill her child after kidnapping attracts offence under Section 506 IPC for which a maximum sentence of 7 years is provided.
The Court opined that the offence under Section 506 of the Penal Code, 1860 had to be read in totality as it was in one incident that the accused had allegedly threatened the complainant, no extended punishment can be provided for the same. With regard to punishment under Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, as no proper evidence was given, the order of acquittal was lawful. Thus the application was dismissed as being devoid of merit. [State of Haryana v. Ankit, 2019 SCC OnLine P&H 1044, decided on 03-07-2019]
