Holding

The High Court's reduction of the sentence was unsustainable because the reason given – the accused's rural origin – was neither adequate nor special, and thus the original sentence must stand.

Summary

The State of Madhya Pradesh convicted Munna Choubey and others of rape under Section 376(1) IPC and sentenced them to seven years rigorous imprisonment, with an additional five years for offences under Section 450, to run concurrently. On appeal, the Madhya Pradesh High Court reduced the sentence to the period already served, solely on the ground that the accused were from rural areas. The State appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that such a reduction violated the statutory requirement that any departure from the minimum sentence must be based on "adequate and special" reasons. The Supreme Court held that the High Court’s reasoning was neither adequate nor special, and therefore the reduction was impermissible. Consequently, the Court set aside the High Court order, reinstated the original sentence, and directed the respondents to surrender to custody. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that sentencing must reflect the gravity of the offence and that mere rural origin cannot justify a departure from prescribed minimums.

Issues considered

Whether the High Court was justified in reducing the sentence for rape below the statutory minimum on the ground that the accused belonged to rural areas.
What constitutes "adequate and special" reasons for a departure from the minimum sentence prescribed under Section 376(1) of the IPC.

Legislation cited

Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 109(1), s. 376(1), s. 450

Subjects

rapesentencingminimum sentenceadequate and special reasonsreduction of sentencerural areacriminal lawdeterrenceproportionality

Judgment

)'
" STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH A
v.
MUNNA CHOUBEY AND ANR.

JANUARY 24, 2005

[ARIJIT PASAYAT AND S.H. KAPADIA, JJ.) B

> Penal Code, 1860-Section 376-Rape-Sessions Court sentencing
accused to RI for seven years-In appeal, High Court reducing the sentence
on ground that the accused belonged to rural area-Held, the reason indicated
by High Court cannot be considered either "adequate" or "special" so as to
c
reduce the sentence.

Sentencing-Duty of the Court to award appropriate sentence-
Discussed.
D
Respondents were convicted by the Sessions Judge and sentenced to
undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years for an offence
of rape. They preferred appeal in High Court praying for reduction in
sentence without challenging the finding of their conviction. High Court
reduced the sentence to the period already undergone by the respondents,
on the sole ground that they belonged to rural areas. E
In appeal to this Court, appellant-State submitted that the reduction
of sentence by High Court was contrary to the law laid down by this Court;
and that while dealing with the offence of rape which was established, the
direction for reduction of sentence should not have been given on the
specious reasoning that the respondents belonged to the rural areas. F
Allowing the appeal, the Court

HELD: I. In operating the sentencing system, law should adopt the
corrective machinery or the deterrence based on factual matrix. The facts
and given circumstances in each case, the nature of the crime, the manner G
in which it was planned and committed, the motive for commission of the
..... crime, the conduct of the accused, the nature of weapons used and all other
attending circumstances are relevant facts which would enter into the area
of consideration. It is the duty of every court to award proper sentence
781 H
782 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2005] I S.C.R.

A having regard to the nature of the offence and the manner in which it was
executed or committed etc. 1785-G-H; 786-A, DI

Mahesh v. State of MP., 119871 2 SCR 710 and Sevaka Perumal etc.
v. State of Tamil Naidu, AIR (1991) SC 1463, relied on.

B 2. After giving due consideration to the facts and circumstances of
each case, for deciding just and appropriate sentence to be awarded for
an offence, the aggravating and mitigating factors and circumstances in
which a crime has been committed are to be delicately balanced on the
basis of really relevant circumstances in a dispassionate manner by the
C Court. 1787-B-CJ

Jashubha Bharatsinh Gohil v. State of Gujarat, 119941 4 SCC 353,
referred to.

Dennis Councle MCGDautha v. State of Callifornia, 402 US 183 and
D 28 L.D. 2d 711, referred to.
3. Imposition of sentence without considering its effect on the social
order in many cases may be in reality a futile exercise. The social impact
of the crime, e.g. where it relates to offences against women, dacoity,
kidnapping, misappropriation oi public money, treason and other offences
E involving moral turpitude or moral delinquency which have great impact
on social order, and public interest, cannot be lost sight of and per se
require exemplary treatment. Any liberal attitude by imposing meagre
sentences or taking too sympathetic view merely on account of lapse of
time in respect of such offences will be result-wise counter productive in
the long run and against societal interest which needs to be cared for and
F strengthened by string of deterrence inbuilt in the sentencing system.
1787-G-H; 788-A-BI

Dhananjoy Chatterjee v. State of WB., 1199412 SCC 220; Ravji v. State
of Rajasthan, 119961 2 SCC 175 and State of M.P. v. Ghanshyam Singh,
120031 8 sec 13, referred to.
G
4. In both sub-sections (I) and (2) of Section 376, minimum sentences
are prescribed. But both in cases of sub-sections (I) and (2), the Court
has the discretion to impose a sentence of imprisonment less than the
prescribed minimum for 'adequate and special reasons'. If the Court does
H not mention such reasons in the judgment there is no scope for awarding
STATEv. M. CHOUBEY [PASAYAT, J.] 783
a sentence lesser than the prescribed minimum. The reason has not only A
,. to be adequate but also special. What is adequate and special would depend
upon several factors and no strait-jacket formula can be indicated. What
is applicable to trial Courts regarding recording reasons for a departure
from minimum sentence is equally applicable to the High Court. The only
reason indicated by the High Court is that the accused belonged to rural B
areas. The same can by no stretch of imagination be considered either
adequate or special. The requirement in law is cumulative.
(788-H; 789-A, B-C]

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No. 167
of 2005.
c
From the Judgment and Order dated 25.8.2003 of the Madhya Pradesh
High Court in Crl.A.No. 829 of 2000.

Sakesh Kumar, Ms. Kamakshi S. Mehlwal and Shekhar Kumar for the
Appellant. D
Ujjal Singh, J.P. Singh and R.C. Kaushik for the Respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

ARIJIT PASAYAT, J. Leave granted.
E
Since the only question involved in this Appeal is whether learned
Single Judge was right in reducing the respective sentence as imposed on
each of the respondents, detailed reference to the factual aspects is unnecessary.

The respondents faced trial for alleged commission of offences
punishable under Sections 450, 376(1)/109(1) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 F
(in short the 'IPC') The respondent- accused Munna was sentenced to undergo
rigorous imprisonn:ient for a period of seven years with a fine of Rs.2,000
with default stipulation for the offence relatable to Section 376(1). He was
also sentenced to undergo imprisonment of five years for the offence
punishable under Section 450 IPC. Respondent-accused Ghanshyam was
similarly sentenced. Both the substantive sentences were directed to run G
concurrently. The conviction was recorded by le~rned Session Judge
Chhatarpur, who imposed the aforesaid sentences. The respondents-accused
preferred an appeal (Crl. Appeal No. 829/2000) in the High Court of Madhya
Pradesh. By the impugned judgment, the High Court directed the sentence to
be reduced to the period already undergone. It noted that the learned counsel H
784 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2005] I S.C.R.

A for the accused persons who were the appellants before the High Court did ~
not challenge the finding of conviction but only prayed for reduction in
sentence. The High Court noticed that respondent-accused Munna had
undergone sentence of imprisonment for a period of about three years and six
months, while respondentaccused Ghanshyam had undergone sentence of
B imprisonment for a period of about two months. The only ground recorded
for reducing the sentence was that the accused persons come from rural
areas. That appeared to be a just and proper ground to the learned Single
Judge to reduce the sentence to the period already undergone.

In support of the appeal learned counsel for the appellant - State
C submitted that the reduction of sentence as done by learned Single Judge was
contrary to the law as laid down by this Court in several cases. While dealing
with the offence of rape which was established, the direction for reduction of
sentence should not have been given on the specious reasoning that the
respondents-accused belonged to the rural areas.

D Learned counsel appearing for the respondents submitted that the alleged
occurrence took place nearly six years back and after considering the relevant
aspects the learned Single Judge had directed reduction in sentence restricting
it to the period already undergone. This Court should not interfere in the
matter particularly under Article 136 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (in
short the 'Constitution').
E
The crucial question which needs to be decided is the proper sentence
and merely because of lapse of time or that the accused belonged to rural
areas, the accused is to be waived from undergoing it. It is to be noted that
the sentences prescribed for offences relatable to Section 376 are imprisonment
F for life or up to a period of I0 years.

The offence of rape occurs in Chapter XVI of IPC. It is an offence
affecting the human body. In that Chapter, there is a separate heading for
'Sexual offence', which encompasses Sections 375, 376, 376-A, 376-B, 376-
C, and 376-D. 'Rape' is defined in Section 375. Sections 375 and 376 have
G been substantially changed by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983, and
several new sections were introduced by the new Act, i.e. 376-A, 376-B,
376-C and 376-D. The fact that sweeping changes were introduced reflects
the legislative intent to curb with iron hand, the offence of rape which affects
the dignity of a woman. The offence of rape in its simplest term is 'the
ravishment of a woman, without her consent, by force, fear or fraud', or as
H 'the carnal knowledge of a woman by force against her will'. 'Rape' or
STATE v. M. CHOUBEY [PASAYAT, J.] 785

•+ 'Raptus' is when a man hath carnal knowledge of a woman by force and A
against her will (Co. Litt. 123-b); or as expressed more fully,' rape is the
carnal knowledge of any woman, above the age of particular years, against
her will; or of a woman child, under that age, with or against her will' (Hale
PC 628). The essential words in an indictment for rape are rapuit and carnaliter
cognovit; but carnaliter cognovit, nor any other circumlocution without the
word rapuit, are not sufficient in a legal sense to express rape; I Hon.6, la, B
9 Edw. 4, 26 a (Hale PC 628). In the crime of rape, 'carnal knowledge'
means the penetration to any the slightest degree of the organ alleged to have
}
been carnally known by the male organ of generation (Stephen's "Criminal
Law" 9th Ed. p.262). In 'Encyclopoedia of Crime and Justice' (Volume 4,
c
page 1356) it is stated " ......even slight penetration is sufficient and emission
is unnecessary". In Halsbury's Statutes of England and Wales (Fourth Edition)
Volume 12, it is stated that even the slightest degree of penetration is sufficient
to prove sexual intercourse. It is violation with violence of the private person
of a woman-an-outrage by all means. By the very nature of the offence it is
an obnoxious act of the highest order.
D
The physical scar may heal up, but the mental scar will always remain.
When a woman is ravished, what is inflicted is not merely physical injury but
the deep sense of some deathless shame.

The law regulates social interests, arbitrates conflicting claims and
demands. Security of persons and property of the people is an essential E
function of the State. It could be achieved through instrumentality of criminal
law. Undoubtedly, there is a cross cultural conflict where living law must
find answer to the new challenges and the courts are required to mould the
sentencing system to meet the challenges. The contagion of lawlessness would
undermine social order and lay it in ruins. Protection of society and stamping F
out criminal proclivity must be the object of law which must be achieved by
imposing appropriate sentence. Therefore, law as a comer-stone of the edifice
+
of "order" should meet the challenges confronting the society. Friedman in
his "Law in Changing Society" stated that, "State of criminal law continues
to be as it should be a decisive reflection of social consciousness of society".
Therefore, in operating the sentencing system, law should adopt the corrective G
machinery or the deterrence based on factual matrix. By deft modulation
sentencing process be stern where it should be, and tempered with mercy
"". where it warrants to be. The facts and given circumstances in each case, the
nature of the crime, the manner in which it was planned and committed, the
motive for commission of the crime, the conduct of the accused, the nature H
786 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2005] 1 S.C.R.

A of weapons used and all other attending circumstances are relevant facts
which would enter into the area of consideration. For instance a murder
committed due to deep-seated mutual and personal rivalry may not call for
penalty of death. But an organised crime or mass murders of innocent people
would call for imposition of death sentence as deterrence. In Mahesh v. State
of M.P., [1987] 2 SCR 710, this Court while refusing to reduce the death
B sentence observed thus:

"It will be a mockery of justice to permit the accused to escape
the extreme penalty of law when faced with such evidence and such
cruel acts. To give the lesser punishment for the accused would be to
render the justicing system of the country suspect. The common man
c will lose faith in courts. In such cases, he understands and appreciates
the language of deterrence more than the reformative jargon."

Therefore, undue sympathy to impose inadequate sentence would do
more harm to the justice system to undermine the public confidence in the
D efficacy of law and society could not long endure under such serious threats.
It is, therefore, the duty of every court to award proper sentence having
regard to the nature of the offence and the manner in which it was executed
or committed etc. This position was illuminatingly stated by this Court in
Sevaka Perumal etc. v, State of Tamil Naidu, AIR (1991) SC 1463.

E The criminal law adheres in general to the principle of proportionality
in prescribing liability accord;ng to the culpability of each kind of criminal.
conduct. It ordinarily allows some significant discretion to the Judge in arriving
at a sentence in each case, presumably to permit sentences that reflect more
subtle considerations of culpability that are raised by the special facts of each
F case. Judges in essence affirm that punishment ought always to fit the crime;
yet in practice sentences are determined largely by other considerations.
Sometimes it is the correctional needs of the perpetrator that are offered to
justify a sentence. Sometimes the desirability of keeping him out of circulation,
and sometimes even the tragic results of his crime. Inevitably these
considerations cause a departure from just desert as the basis of punishment
G and create cases of apparent injustice that are serious and widespread.
Proportion between crime and punishment is a goal respected in
principle, and in spite of errant notions, it remains a strong influence in the
determination of sentences. The practice of punishing all serious crimes with
equal severity is now unknown in civilized societies, but such a radical
H departure from the principle of proportionality has disappeared from the law
STATE v. M. CHOUBEY [PASAYAT, J.) 787
only in recent times. Even now for a single grave infraction drastic sentences A
are imposed. Anything less than a penalty of greatest severity for any serious
crime is thought then to be a measure of toleration that is unwarranted and
unwise. But in fact, quite apart from those considerations that make punishment
unjustifiable when it is out of proportion to the crime, uniformly
disproportionate punishment has some very undesirable practical consequences. B

After giving due consideration to the facts and circumstances of each
case, for deciding just and appropriate sentence to be awarded for an offence,
the aggravating and mitigating factors and circumstances in which a crime
has been committed are to be delicately balanced on the basis of really
relevant circumstances in a dispassionate manner by the Court. Such act of C
balancing is indeed a difficult task. It has been very aptly indicated in Dennis
Councle MCGDautha v. State of Callifornia, 402 US 183: 28 L.D. 2d 711
that no formula of a foolproof nature is possible that would provide a
reasonable criterion in determining a just and appropriate punishment in the
infinite variety of circumstances that may affect the gravity of the crime. In
the absence of any foolproof formula which may provide any basis for D
reasonable criteria to correctly assess various circumstances germane to the
..J consideration of gravity of crime, the discretionary judgment in the facts of
each case, is the only way in which such judgment may be equitably
distinguished.

In Jashubha Bharatsinh Gohil v,. State of Gujarat, [1994] 4 SCC 353, E
it has been held by this Court that in the matter of death sentence, tt e Courts
are required to answer new challenges and mould the sentencing system to
meet these challenges. The object should be to protect the society and to
deter the criminal in achieving the avowed object to law by imposing
appropriate sentence. It is expected that the Courts would operate the p
_... sentencing system so as to impose such sentence which reflects the conscience
of the society and the sentencing process has to be stern where it should be.
Even though the principles were indicated in the background of death sentence
and life sentence, the logic applies to all cases where appropriate sentence is
the issue.
G
Imposition of sentence without considering its effect on the social order
in many cases may be in reality a futile exercise. The social impact of the
crime, e.g. where it relates to offences against women, dacoity, kidnapping,
misappropriation of public money, treason and other offences involving moral
turpitude or moral delinquency which have great impact on social order, and H
788 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2005] I S.C.R.

A public interest, cannot be lost sight of and per se require exemplary treatment. *
Any liberal attitude by imposing meagre sentences or taking too sympathetic
view merely on account of lapse of time in respect of such offences will be
result-wise counter productive in the long run and against societal interest
which needs to be cared for and strengthened by string of deterrence inbuilt
in the sentencing system.
B
In Dhananjoy Chatterjee v. State of W.B., (1994] 2 SCC 220, this Court
has observed that shockingly large number of criminals go unpunished thereby
increasingly, encouraging the criminals and in the ultimate making justice
suffer by weakening the system's creditability. The imposition of appropriate
punishment is the manner in which the Court responds to the society's cry
c for justice against the criminal. Justice demands that Courts should impose
punishment befitting the crime so that the Courts reflect public abhorrence of
the crime. The Court must not only keep in view the rights of the criminal
but also the rights of the victim of the crime and the society at large while
considering the imposition of appropriate punishment.
D
Similar view has also been expressed in Ravji v. State of Rajasthan,
[1996] 2 sec 175. It has been held in the said case that it is the nature and
gravity of the crime but not the criminal, which are germane for consideration
of appropriate punishment in a criminal trial. The Court will be failing in its
duty if appropriate punishment is not awarded for a crime which has been
E committed not only against the individual victim but also against the society
to which the criminal and victim belong. The punishment to be awarded for
a crime must not be irrelevant but it should conform to and be consistent with
the atrocity and brutality with which the crime has been perpetrated, the
enormity of the crime warranting public abhorrence and it should "respond
F to the society's cry for justice against the criminal". If for extremely heinous
crime of murder perpetrated in a very brutal manner without any provocation,
most deterrent punishment is not given, the case of deterrent punishment will
lose its relevance.
.
These aspects have been elaborated in State of MP. v. Ghanshyam
G Singh, [2003) s sec 13.
In both sub-sections (I) and (2) of Section 376 minimum sentences are
prescribed.

Both in cases of sub-sections (I) and (2) the Court has the discretion
H to impose a sentence of imprisonment less than the prescribed minimum for
STATE v. M. CHOUBEY [PASAYA T, J.) 789
'adequate and special reasons'. If the Court does not mention such reasons A
in the judgment there is no scope for awarding a sentence lesser than the
prescribed minimum.

In order to exercise the discretion of reducing the sentence the statutory
requirement is that the Court has to record "adequate and special reasons" in
the judgment and not fanciful reasons which would permit the Court to B
impose a sentence less than the prescribed minimum. The reason has not only
to be adequate but also special. What is adequate and special would depend
upon several factors and no strait-jacket formula can be indicated. What is
applicable to trial Courts regarding recording reasons for a departure from
minimum sentence is equally applicable to the High Court. The only reason C
indicated by the High Court is that the accused belonged to rural areas. The
same can by no stretch of imagination be considered either adequate or
special. The requirement in law is cumulative.

Considering the legal position as indicated above the High Court's
order is clearly unsustainable and is accordingly set aside. The respondents D
are directed to surrender to custody forthwith to serve the remainder of
sentence. The appeal is allowed to the extent indicated.

B.B.B. Appeal allowed.