High Court: Give individuals chance to reform within justice system

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, February 26

In a significant judgment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that a civilised society is required to provide offenders with an opportunity of self-realisation, allowing them to comprehend their mistakes and redirect their awareness towards making positive contributions to the society.

Opportunity to realise mistake

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In a civilised society like ours, it would be truly unfortunate if an offender is not given the opportunity to realise and fully fathom his mistake and channel that awareness into making fruitful contributions in society. Justice Harpreet Singh Brar

Justice Harpreet Singh Brar emphasised the need to separate an individual from the committed crime while making it clear that the principles of reformation and rehabilitation in the criminal justice system called to look beyond the fateful act committed by him.

The ruling by Justice Brar is significant as it emphasises the importance of rehabilitation and giving individuals a chance for redemption within the criminal justice system. It came on a petition challenging the judgment, dated September 15, 2018, passed by Jind Additional Sessions Judge.

The Bench, during the course of hearing, was told that the trial court had initially convicted the respondents-accused for offenses, including wrongful restraint, vide judgment dated February 21, 2018. The accused were then sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment of two years.

Their plea to get released on a probation was also declined. But the Additional Sessions Judge modified the sentence, granting the benefit of probation to the accused.

Challenging the judgment, the petitioner-complainant contended that the respondents-accused had brutally beaten him. Their individual roles in committing the offence were duly established in the FIR and the statements rendered by the witnesses. As such, the respondents-accused did not deserve the benefit of probation and were required to be sentenced by being awarded the maximum punishment as prescribed by the law.

After hearing arguments from both parties and examining the records, Justice Brar noted that the accused had no prior criminal record and were the sole breadwinners of their families. “The theory of reformation and rehabilitation aims at separating the criminal from the crime and compels us to look beyond the one fateful act committed by him. In a civilised society like ours, it would be truly unfortunate if an offender is not given the opportunity to realise and fully fathom his mistake and channel that awareness into making fruitful contributions in society,” the Bench said.

Dismissing the petition, the Bench added that it did not find perversity or illegality in the findings of the lower courts.