IN THE SUPREME COURT OF  INDIA             CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION   

             CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 534   OF 2007

GAYA PRASAD ..  APPELLANT(S)

vs.

STATE OF M.P. & ORS. ..  RESPONDENT(S)

O  R D E R

This appeal has been filed impugning the judgment of  

the High Court dated 13/2/2008 wherein the judgment of the  

Additional  Sessions  Judge,  Sidhi  (M.P.)  convicting   the  

appellants for an offence punishable under Sec.307 of the  

Indian Penal Code and awarding a sentence of seven years  

R.I. and a fine,  has been modified to a conviction under  

Sec.324/34 of the IPC.

During  the  hearing  of  this  matter  the  learned  

counsel for the appellant argued that as the parties were  

closely related to each other and had since compromised the  

dispute it was appropriate that the offence be compounded  

and the appellant be acquitted.  The learned counsel also  

sought time to produce the complainant Bhagwan Dutta Mishra  

before  us.  An  elderly  gentleman  claiming  that  he  was  

Bhagwan  Dutta  Mishra  has  appeared  before  us  today  and  

stated that he had no grievance against the appellant and  

he would be happy if the matter was compounded. We  

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questioned  the  learned  counsel  for  the  parties  as  to  

whether Bhagwan Dutta Mishra could be identified by any of  

them. They rightly declined to do so and stated that only  

the ipse dixit of the gentleman was available before us.

Keeping in view this fact we are not inclined to  

compound the offence  but as the dispute appears to have  

been settled and in any case is a trivial one, we direct  

that the appellants be released on probation under Section  

4 of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, on conditions to  

be settled by the Trial Court. The appeal is allowed to the  

above extent.  

                     .................J.          (HARJIT SINGH BEDI)

     .................J.

                                    (J.M. PANCHAL) New Delhi, November 10, 2009.