Point of Law:
Reforming criminals who understand their wrongdoing, are able to comprehend their acts, have grown and nartured into citizens with a desire to live a fruitful life in the outside world, have the capacity of humanising the world.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri O.P. Gupta, learned counsel the appellant, learned A.G.A. appearing for State and perused the record.

2. This criminal appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 20.01.1983 passed by Special Judge, Ballia in Criminal Case No. 158 of 1982 (State of U.P. Vs. Ran Bilas), under Sections 3/7 of Essential Commodities Act for having breached the U.P. Sugar Control Order, 1962 and U.P. Sugar Dealers Licencing Order, 1962, whereby the appellant was convicted and sentenced to undergo eighteen (18) months rigorous imprisonment.

3. The prosecution story in brief is that the present accused Ram Bilas was arrested on 04.09.1980 by Sri Indra Bahadur Singh, Naib Tehsildar Siar (Rasra), district Ballia while the present accused was going to sell away two bags of sugar on higher rate rather than the controlled sugar rate as he was fair-price-shop owner, therefore, contravened the provisions of the U.P. Sugar Control Order, 1962 and U.P. Sugar Dealers Licencing Order, 1962 and he was charged under Section 3 punishable under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act. A written report was lodged by the Naib Tehsildar which is Exhibit-Ka-1. The case was investigated and ultimately charge-sheet was filed against the present accused Ram Bilas.

4. The trial court after examining the prosecution witnesses and hearing the accused persons under Section 313 Cr.P.C., convicted and sentenced the accused-apellant to undergo eighteen months rigorous imprisonment under Section 3/7 of Essential Commodities Act.

5. Feeling aggrieved from the judgment and order dated 20.01.1983 passed by Special Judge, Ballia, this criminal appeal has been filed.

6. At the very outset, learned counsel for the appellant, on instructions, stated that he does not propose to challenge the impugned judgment and order on its merits. He, however, prayed for modification of the order of the sentence for the period already undergone by the appellant.

7. Learned counsel for the appellant further submits that the incident has happened in the year 1980 and more than four decades have passed and since then the appellant is living peacefully and after conviction the appellant had not indulged in any other criminal activity. During trial after conviction the appellant had served the prison term of more than twenty days. Learned counsel for the appellant has further prayed that since the accused person is old, he should not be sent to jail at the fag-end of his life. He has further submitted that the appellant is more than 70 years of age and he is are suffering from age related ailments. Further submission is that there is no bread earner in the family of the appellant. He also submits that on the question of legality of sentence he is not pressing this appeal and only pressing on the quantum of sentence and he has prayed for taking lenient view considering the age of the accused and his age related ailments.

8. Sri Narayan Mishra, learned A.G.A. for the State on the other hand has opposed the appeal and has submitted that the trial court has properly awarded sentence to the accused person and no interference in his sentence is called for, hence the appeal be dismissed and accused be directed to suffer the sentence.

9. I have perused the entire material available on record and the evidence as well as judgment of the trial court. The learned counsel for the accused-appellant does not want to press the appeal on its merit and requests to take a lenient view of the matter.

10. In Mohd. Giasuddin Vs. State of AP, AIR 1977 SC 1926, explaining rehabilitary & reformative aspects in sentencing it has been observed by the Supreme Court:

"Crime is a pathological aberration. The criminal can ordinarily be redeemed and the state has to rehabilitate rather than avenge. The subculture that leads to ante-social behaviour has to be countered not by undue cruelty but by reculturization. Therefore, the focus of interest in penology in the individual and the goal is salvaging him