Panchkula man sentenced to one year in jail for beating up friend; court punishes cop for ‘poor’ work

A local court criticised the Panchkula police for a “poor investigation” and sentenced to one year in jail a resident of Sector 19 who injured his friend by hitting him repeatedly with a blunt instrument in 2018.

Retaining the police, judicial magistrate Arunima Chauhan said, “It is necessary to mention here that apparently the investigation conducted by the police was a complete fiasco and was conducted in a negligent manner.”

The convict has been identified as Gaurav, 26, of Panchkula. In November 2018, he had attacked Kamal alias Kartika of Pinjore with an axe, causing serious injuries to the victim.

The court also imposed a fine of ₹15,000 for the convicted person.

“It was crucial that the investigating officers should have sent the weapon used in the crime after its recovery to the Madhuban Forensic Science Lab for proper forensic examination so that fingerprints and blood stains could be found on the weapon even if they were washed away by rain as alleged by the prosecution,” the court said in the order.

“But this court is mindful of the principle of law that a guilty person should not be entitled to any benefit due to negligence on the part of the prosecution. Further, it is a settled position of law that any sloppy, defective investigation or any negligence in investigation cannot adversely affect the prosecution case and does not exonerate the accused from liability if the direct evidence available on record is credible,” the court said while awarding Gaurav one year in prison.

A Gentle Approach Will Send the Wrong Signal: Court

The court in its order said, “The accused (now convicted) committed the offence by using sharp weapon thereby causing multiple injuries to the victim. The facts of the case clearly indicate malice in the mind of the accused who hatched a conspiracy against the victim and lured her in such a way that the victim trusted him and fell into his trap.”

“Furthermore, adopting a lenient sentence while passing sentence will send a wrong signal to the society as the said act of violence is extreme and may shock the conscience of the general public,” the court said while dismissing the request for a lenient sentence.

Compensation for the victim who became disabled

The court ordered compensation to be paid ₹2 lakh to the complainant Kamal, out of which ₹10,000 collected from the accused as fine shall be given to the victim. The court directed the DLSA Panchkula to pay adequate compensation to the victim.

Kamal, who was the victim of the attack, suffered injuries to his head, neck and hands. He told the court that he was unable to use his hands properly as a result of the injuries.

The case in a nutshell

Recounting the attack, Kamal said he had known Gaurav for six years. On November 10, 2018, around 8.30 pm, Gaurav called him and asked him to meet him near Metro Road in Zirakpur. He went to meet him. Around midnight, he and Gaurav took a narrow path to a river and there Gaurav attacked him with an axe, injuring him, he said.

A case under sections 324 (intentionally causing hurt), 326 (causing grievous hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Chandimandir police station.