HC reduces acid attack convict’s term, says frustration with wife ‘mitigating circumstance’

Tripura High Court bench also reduced the fine the convict was directed to pay and acquitted him of cruelty stating that 'petty quarrels' do not amount to cruelty under Section 498A.

The Tripura High Court, Agartala | http://thc.nic.in/

New Delhi: The Tripura High Court Monday reduced a convict’s punishment for throwing acid on his wife, noting that the wife’s repeated refusal to reunite with him was a “mitigating circumstance”.

A bench comprising Justice S. Talapatra and Justice S.G. Chattopadhyay observed, “This circumstance indicates that the appellant desired to restore his matrimonial relationship with his wife[PW-2] but his reluctant wife was not willing to reunite with him which might have caused a sense of frustration in the appellant.”

“We cannot overlook this mitigating circumstance while deciding about the proportionality of the sentence to be awarded to the appellant for the crime committed by him,” it added.

While noting that there was enough evidence to prove the case against the man, Alamin Miah, the bench reduced the sentence of life imprisonment awarded to him, to a 10-year jail sentence which is the minimum mandatory sentence under Section 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid etc) of the Indian Penal Code.

The court also acquitted him of charges under Section 498A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) of the IPC. In doing so, it noted that the couple “belonged to the poor strata of society” and that “it was, therefore, not unlikely that there would be discord and differences in their domestic life”.

“Petty quarrels arising out of such discord”, it said, would not amount to cruelty under Section 498A.

It said that an offence under the section can be established only when it is shown that “appellant or his relatives subjected the victim to harassment with a view to coercing her or persons related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property etc.”

Fine reduced from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25,000

The court was hearing an appeal filed by Miah, challenging his April 2019 conviction by a sessions judge in Udaipur. He had been sentenced to life imprisonment, along with Rs 1 lakh fine for the victim.

Miah was convicted by the trial court under Sections 326A and 498A of the Indian Penal Code.

The complaint in the case was filed by the wife, Momita’s father in January 2018, 10 months after the couple tied the knot. Momita had been living with her parents for 5 months before the incident, alleging that Miah was harassing her for dowry.

He had thrown acid on her on 13 January 2018, grievously injuring her.

The court now reduced his sentence, and also noted that Miah used to work as a day labourer and 20 per cent of the wages earned by him are also being deducted for the State Victim Compensation Fund. So the court reduced the fine imposed on him as well, from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 25,000.

It further noted that the Supreme Court has directed every acid attack victim to be paid compensation of at least Rs 3 lakhs by the state government. It therefore directed the state government to deposit the amount within 4 months with the trial court, after which the latter will give the amount to Momita.