Supreme Court to examine how a CJM court in Kerala ‘exceeded jurisdiction’
The Hindu
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine how a Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Kerala “exceeded its jurisdiction” to try and convict a man for dacoity.
The Supreme Court has agreed to examine how a Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Kerala “exceeded its jurisdiction” to try and convict a man for dacoity.
The offence of dacoity under Section 394 of the Indian Penal Code is punished with life imprisonment or sentence up to 10 years and fine.
Under Section 29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) “may pass any sentence authorised by law except a sentence of death or of imprisonment for life or of imprisonment for a term exceeding seven years”.
A Bench led by Justice Krishna Murari has issued notice to the State of Kerala on the appeal filed by the accused-petitioner Ratheesh, represented by advocates Tomy Chacko and Ankolekar Gurudatta and listed the case for detailed hearing in July.
The court granted Mr. Ratheesh exemption from surrendering until further orders.
Mr. Ratheesh, who has also challenged the reduced sentence of two years awarded to him by the State High Court in November 2021, said the alleged incident dated back by 25 years. He was 54 years old now, a fisherman wrongly tried for a serious offence like dacoity.
He said the police version had not even included the basic ingredients of such a crime. There was no medical evidence of any injuries or hurt inflicted on the victim.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”