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Acity court sentenced three persons to life imprisonment for their involvement in the April 2010 killing of a 70-year-old Dalit and his physically-challenged daughter at Haryana’s Mirchpur village.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau sentenced Kulwinder, Ramphal and Rajender to life term after holding them guilty under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The court sentenced five others to jail terms varying up to five years. The court, however, released seven others on probation for one year. Of the 97 accused in the case, the court had convicted 15 persons on September 24, saying the allegations levelled against the remaining 82 were not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Baljeet, Karamveer, Karampal, Dharambir and Bobal were awarded up to five years imprisonment on charges of rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, mischief and setting ablaze the victims’ houses and violation of provisions of SC/ST (POA) Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each on eight convicts who were sentenced to varying jail terms, while a fine of Rs 10,000 each was imposed on the probationer convicts.
The 15 convicts, belonging to the Jat community, were held guilty of setting ablaze victim Tara Chand’s house, which caused the deaths on April 21, 2010 in Mirchpur village in Hisar district.
ASJ Lau let off Sumit, Pradeep, Rajpal, Sunil, Rishi, Monu and Pradeep on probation of good conduct under the provision of Probation of Offenders Act taking into account that most of them were first time offenders and were young.
The court noted that the seven convicts were not held guilty for the offences under the SC/ST (POA) Act. The court also recommended that in all cases of communal and caste violence, the statements of the eye witnesses should be recorded by a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC. The court also suggested that the statements should be videographed keeping in view the possibility of witnesses turning hostile as had happened in the present case.
The court, while pronouncing quantum of sentence for the convicts, noted that the convicts have been in custody for more than a year. The court also suggested, “The SC/ST POA Act came into existence almost two decades ago and its efficacy needs to be evaluated in the changing socio-economic scenario.”
The court observed, “All atrocities are crimes against humanity. The SC/ST POA Act, 1989 deals with atrocities but restricts its operation to particular groups based upon caste. Just like an offender or a violator of law has no caste, reed, race, sex or religion, neither does the victim. Caste and community-based violence can be prevented by inclusive and interactive political process to subdue the fanaticism of decisive communal thinking.”
The judge added, “What has made me ponder if it was not time that the ‘Atrocities Act’ be made caste-neutral with a provision for uniform punishment for all violators irrespective of caste distinctions. Why this distinction when the crime committed is the same and the victims suffer as much?”
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau sentenced Kulwinder, Ramphal and Rajender to life term after holding them guilty under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The court sentenced five others to jail terms varying up to five years. The court, however, released seven others on probation for one year. Of the 97 accused in the case, the court had convicted 15 persons on September 24, saying the allegations levelled against the remaining 82 were not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Baljeet, Karamveer, Karampal, Dharambir and Bobal were awarded up to five years imprisonment on charges of rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, mischief and setting ablaze the victims’ houses and violation of provisions of SC/ST (POA) Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each on eight convicts who were sentenced to varying jail terms, while a fine of Rs 10,000 each was imposed on the probationer convicts.
The 15 convicts, belonging to the Jat community, were held guilty of setting ablaze victim Tara Chand’s house, which caused the deaths on April 21, 2010 in Mirchpur village in Hisar district.
ASJ Lau let off Sumit, Pradeep, Rajpal, Sunil, Rishi, Monu and Pradeep on probation of good conduct under the provision of Probation of Offenders Act taking into account that most of them were first time offenders and were young.
The court noted that the seven convicts were not held guilty for the offences under the SC/ST (POA) Act. The court also recommended that in all cases of communal and caste violence, the statements of the eye witnesses should be recorded by a magistrate under Section 164 CrPC. The court also suggested that the statements should be videographed keeping in view the possibility of witnesses turning hostile as had happened in the present case.
The court, while pronouncing quantum of sentence for the convicts, noted that the convicts have been in custody for more than a year. The court also suggested, “The SC/ST POA Act came into existence almost two decades ago and its efficacy needs to be evaluated in the changing socio-economic scenario.”
The court observed, “All atrocities are crimes against humanity. The SC/ST POA Act, 1989 deals with atrocities but restricts its operation to particular groups based upon caste. Just like an offender or a violator of law has no caste, reed, race, sex or religion, neither does the victim. Caste and community-based violence can be prevented by inclusive and interactive political process to subdue the fanaticism of decisive communal thinking.”
The judge added, “What has made me ponder if it was not time that the ‘Atrocities Act’ be made caste-neutral with a provision for uniform punishment for all violators irrespective of caste distinctions. Why this distinction when the crime committed is the same and the victims suffer as much?”
