ITEM NO.10                 Court No.7               SECTION IIA

           S U P R E M E   C O U R T   O F   I N D I A                          RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS                      Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl) No(s).7359/2008

(From the judgement and order dated 14/03/2008 in  CRLA No. 428/2001  of The HIGH COURT  OF MADRAS)

MURUGAN                                              Petitioner(s)

                     VERSUS

STATE OF T.NADU TR.INSP.OF POLICE                    Respondent(s)

WITH SLP(Crl) NO. 9446 of 2008

(With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP,exemption from filing O.T.,bail and office report ))

Date: 02/03/2009  This Petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM :         HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ALTAMAS KABIR         HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE CYRIAC JOSEPH

For Petitioner(s)                      Ms. E.R. Sumathy,Adv.

Mr. Kanakraj,Sr.Adv.                      Mr. M. Vijaya Bhaskar,Adv.

For Respondent(s)                      Mr. S. Thananjayan,Adv.

          UPON hearing counsel the Court made the following                                O R D E R  

Leave granted.   The  appeals  are  partly  allowed  in  terms of  the  signed  

order.

            (Ganga Thakur)            (Juginder Kaur)             P.S. to Registrar            Court Master

Signed order is placed on the file.

                 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA                   CRIMINAL  APPELLATE JURISDICTION

   CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 413  OF 2009       (Arising out of SLP(Crl.) No.7359/08)  

  MURUGAN ...APPELLANT(S)

Versus

STATE OF T. NADU TH. INSPECTOR OF POLICE .RESPONDENT (S)

With Crl. Appeal No.414/09  (Arising out of SLP(Crl.) No. 9446/08)

O R D E R

Leave granted in both the Special Leave Petitions which are taken  

up together for disposal  since they arise out of a common judgment of the  

High Court.

On 18th July, 1998, at 12.00 noon, while one Sarika Shah and Kavita  

(PW-2),  were proceeding on the road followed  by some of  the prosecution  

witnesses,  the  appellant  along  with  the  other  accused  came  in  an  auto  

rickshaw  and  began  teasing  the  said  two  girls.   From  the  evidence,  it  

transpires that one of the persons in the auto rickshaw poured water over the  

two girls and he also jumped at Sarika Shah with the intention of outraging  

her  modesty.  As  a consequence she fell down

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and sustained  head injuries which ultimately resulted in her death.   All  the  

accused persons were tried and  

convicted  under  Section  304  Part  II  read  with  Section  34  IPC  and  were  

sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and fine.  These  two appeals  

have been filed by C. Sridhar and Murugan, who were the accused Nos. 6 and  

9.

When notice was issued in these appeals on 18th December, 2008, we  

had directed that notice would be  confined only to the quantum of sentence as  

far as the two appellants  are concerned.

Having heard learned counsel for the respective parties and after  

perusing the evidence adduced during the trial, it is evident that it was the  

accused No.1, Hari, who played the main role or active role in teasing the two  

girls which ultimately resulted in the death of Sarika Shah and all the others  

were  inside  the  auto  rickshaw  when  the  incident  took  place  and  did  not  

participate therein.  Having regard to the above, we think it will meet the ends  

of justice if we  reduce the sentence imposed on these two appellants  to two  

years rigorous imprisonment while maintaining the fine.   

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The appeals are partly allowed and the judgment of the Trial Court  

dated 26th April, 2001, is modified to the aforesaid extent.

                             .....................J.                                                    ( ALTAMAS KABIR )             

  ....................J.       ( CYRIAC JOSEPH )

New Delhi, March 02,2009.