HC upholds conviction, releases woman on probation

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A woman who was convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment for ‘causing death by negligence’ has had her sentence set off by the High Court.

The HC upheld her conviction but released her under Probation on ‘due admonition’. “There are no other offence reported by the police till today against the appellant.

The alleged offence took place in the year 2009 and almost fifteen years have lapsed and the age of the deceased is thirty-five years and she is having two children.

Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, I am of the view that benefit of Section 4 of the (Probation of Offenders) Act, 1958 shall be extended to the appellant/ accused,” Justice K Natarajan said in his judgment recently.

Renuka, the convict, had approached the High Court in 2011 against the conviction and sentence passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Mandya in the case dating from 2009. She had been charged under Sections 341, 323, 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The incident took place on May 24, 2009. Renuka’s sheep were grazing in the backyard of one Nanjamma who objected to it. A fight ensued and Renuka dragged Nanjamma by the hair, draggedher to the road and kicked her on the stomach.

Neighbours pacified them and Nanjamma was taken to the hospital where she succumbed to the injuries.

The HC recording the incident in the judgement said, “Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the deceased and the accused are neighbours. The incident has taken place when the accused had gone to the backyard of the house of the deceased to graze the lambs. When the deceased objected the accused for letting the lambs in her backyard and complained her that she has said many times not to do so and again, she is letting the lambs in her backyard, at that time, the accused abused her in filthy language and caught hold of her hairs, pulled and dragged her to the road side and kicked her on her stomach severely and caused injuries, which resulted in the death of the deceased.” (CRLA 889/2011)