Orissa HC Upholds Assault Conviction, Cuts Fine-Default Jail To About 15 Days Already Served

The petitioner was convicted with a co-accused under Sections 323/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to pay a fine of ₹1,000, with one month’s simple imprisonment in default.

The appellate court affirmed the conviction and sentence.

In revision, the petitioner did not challenge his conviction and sought only reduction of sentence.

He produced an order showing that he had been taken into custody on 17 October 2026 and had remained in custody since then, having served approximately 15 days.

The petitioner’s conviction was under Sections 323/34 IPC, concerning voluntarily causing hurt with common intention.

The Court considered the sentencing principle that punishment should, where appropriate, allow for the reformation of the offender; it observed that the law aims to prevent crime rather than merely punish offenders and that leniency may be appropriate in petty offences where there is reasonable ground for reformation.

The revision was brought under the revisional provisions identified in the case heading, Sections 397 and 401 CrPC / Sections 438 and 442 BNSS.

The petitioner accepted the conviction and confined his challenge to sentence.

The Court noted that the sentence imposed was a fine, with imprisonment only in default, and that the petitioner had already spent approximately 15 days in custody for non-payment of the fine.

No material indicated any past conviction, and the Court considered the offence petty and the petitioner’s circumstances sufficient to warrant leniency.

It therefore concluded that the interests of justice would be served by limiting the default sentence to the period already undergone.

It modified the petitioner’s sentence to the period already undergone and directed that a copy of the judgment be sent immediately to the concerned jail to release him, if he was not otherwise required in another criminal case.