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DIPAK MISRA, PRAFULLA C.PANT
State of Punjab – Appellant
Versus
Saurabh Bakshi – Respondent
What is the proper sentencing approach under Section 304A IPC for death caused by rash and negligent driving in a drunken state? What is the role of compensation paid to victims or their heirs in determining the quantum of sentence under 304A IPC? Should the High Court’s reduction of a sentence based on compensation be considered justified or an improper invocation of mercy?
Key Points: - (!) The appeal concerns sentencing under Section 304A IPC for death caused by rash and negligent driving in a drunken state. - (!) The High Court reduced the sentence partly on the basis that compensation was paid; the Court found this not a blanket proposition that compensation always justifies reduction. - (!) The Court states that payment of compensation is not a universal mitigating factor and must not lead to leniency inconsistent with deterrence. - (!) The Court emphasizes deterrence in sentencing for road-traffic negligence and cites proportionality and social impact. - (!) The Court reaffirms that sentencing must balance correction, deterrence, and victim rehabilitation without devaluing society’s interest. - (!) The Court calls for a re-examination of sentencing policy under 304A IPC due to ongoing road accident issues. - (!) The Court rejects the notion that compensation payments can substitute for the necessary imprisonment, stressing deterrence.
JUDGMENT
Dipak Misra, J.
Long back, an eminent thinker and author, Sophocles, had to say:
“Law can never be enforced unless fear supports them.”
Though the aforesaid statement was made centuries back, it has its pertinence, in a way, with the enormous vigour, in today’s society. It is the duty of every right-thinking citizen to show veneration to law so that an orderly, civilized and peaceful society emerges. It has to be borne in mind that law is averse to any kind of chaos. It is totally intolerant of anarchy. If any one defies law, he has to face the wrath of law, depending on the concept of proportionality that the law recognizes. It can never be forgotten that the purpose of criminal law legislated by the competent legislatures, subject to judicial scrutiny within constitutionally established parameters, is to protect the collective interest and save every individual that forms a constituent of the collective from unwarranted hazards. It is sometimes said in an egocentric and uncivilised manner that law cannot bind the individual actions which are perceived as flaws by the large body of people, but, the truth is and has to be that when the law withstands the test of the consti
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