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PETITIONER: PHUL SINGH

       Vs.

RESPONDENT: STATE OF HARYANA

DATE OF JUDGMENT10/09/1979

BENCH: KRISHNAIYER, V.R. BENCH: KRISHNAIYER, V.R. SHINGAL, P.N.

CITATION:  1980 AIR  249            1980 SCR  (1) 589  1979 SCC  (4) 413

ACT:      Criminal Procedure Code-Sentence-When can be reduced.

HEADNOTE:      The appellant  who was 22 committed rape on the wife of his cousin who was a next door neighbour in broad-day-light. The Sessions Judge found the appellant guilty of the offence of rape  and sentenced him to four years R.I. On appeal, the High Court  affirmed it. It was urged that the appellant was in  his   early  twenties  and  that  there  were  signs  of repentance. The  fact remains  that the  two families  being close cousins  are ready  to take  a  lenient  view  of  the situation which  of course  does not  bind the  court in any manner. Partly accepting the appeal, the Court ^      HELD: The  appellant is  not a  ’habitual’ and  has  no vicious antecedents  except this fugitive, randy molestation which is  bad enough  in a  society where  women  are  often socially weak  and sexually victimized. It may be marginally extenuatory to  mention that  modern Indian  conditions  are drifting into  societal permissiveness  on the  carnal front promoting proneness  to pornos in life, what with libidinous ’brahmacharis’, womanizing public men, lascivious dating and mating by  unwed students,  sex explosion  in celluloid  and book stalls and corrupt morals teaching a new ’high’ in high places. [591 F-H]      The appellant  is a  youth barely  22 with  no criminal antecedents save  this offence.  He has  a young  wife and a farm to  look  after.  Given  correctional  courses  through meditational  therapy   and  other   measures,  his   erotic aberration may  wither away.  A man like the appellant has a reasonable prospect of shaping into a balanced person, given propitious social  environs, curative and congenial work and techniques of internal stress release or of reformatory self expression. In  this background  the court  regarded a  four year term  of  rigorous  imprisonment  more  hardening  than habilitative,  even   though  the  court  deplored  the  sex violence the  young appellant  had inflicted on his cousin’s wife snatching a tricky opportunity. [592 B-D]      A hyper  sexed homo  sapiens cannot  be habilitated  by humiliating or  harsh treatment.  In prison  treatment must, therefore,  be   geared  to   psychic  healing,  release  of

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stresses,   restoration   of   self-respect   and   cultural normalisation, apart  from training  to adapt oneself to the life outside.  The functional  failure  of  our  pachydermic prison projects,  exacerbated by  its tension  and trauma on the one  hand and  the reverse  ethos inside  on the  other, deserves judicial cognisance. [591 A, D-E]      The current  efforts of Governments, Central and State, to reform  jail regimen,  it was  hoped, will  give a better deal to  the caged  community. For  these reasons,  in  this case, it  is  desirable  to  superadd  to  the  sentence  of imprisonment a  few directives  to ensure  that the carceral period reforms  the convict. A set of positive prescriptions will ensure  appellant turning  a new leaf. One major method in securing  this goal  is to  keep alive the family ties of the person in 590 prison so that the appellant may not deteriorate into a non- person. Within  the limits  of  the  Prison  Act  and  Rules thereunder, the State Government or the Inspector General of Prisons will  ensure that on parole, furlough or orders, the young appellant  turns a  new leaf of normal life. [591 E-F, 592 F]

JUDGMENT:      CRIMINAL APPELLATE  JURISDICTION: Criminal  Appeal  No. 506 of 1979.      Appeal by  special leave  from the  Judgment and  Order dated 3-5-79  of the  Punjab & Haryana High Court in Crl. A. No. 166/76.      Harbans Singh Marwah for the Appellant.      R. N. Sachthey for the Respondent.      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by      KRISHNA IYER,  J. A  philanderer of  22, appellant Phul Singh, overpowered  by sex stress in excess, hoisted himself into his  cousin’s house  next door, and in broad day-light, overpowered the  temptingly  lonely  prosecutrix  of  twenty four, Pushpa,  raped her  in hurried heat and made an urgent exist having  fulfilled his  erotic  sortie.  The  screaming victim complained  to  her  mother  working  in  the  field; thereafter a  first information,  prosecution and conviction ensued, a  sentence of  4 years  R.I.  was  imposed  by  the Sessions Court,  and the  High Court  affirmed it in appeal. The broad facts bearing on the instant act of carnal assault look too  probable for  pettifogging legalistics  about poor corroboration, consent  and  false  implication  to  devalue their credibility.  The culpability  is beyond  doubt and we uphold the conviction.      Ordinarily, rape  is violation,  with violence,  of the private person  of a  woman-an outrage by all canons. In our conditions of  escalating sex brutality a four-year term for rape is  not excessive.  But here,  the offender  is in  his early twenties  and signs of repentance are seen. The victim and her  parents have  forgiven the  molester who is a first cousin, says counsel. An affidavit from the father-in law of the woman has been filed and, if needed, counsel is ready to produce the  victim’s statement  that she  has forgiven  the criminal. While  it is possible that the accused may procure such condonation  from unwilling  victim, the  fact  remains that the  two families being close cousins are ready to take a lenient  view of  the situation.  Of course, this does not bind the  Court in  any manner. Therefore, taking an overall view of  the familial  and the criminal factors involved, we reduce the imprisonment from 4 years to 2 years R.I.

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    We must,  however, direct  our attention in a different penological direction.  For sentencing  efficacy in cases of lust-loaded criminality  cannot be simplistically assumed by award of long incarceration, for, 591 otten  that   remedy   aggravates   the   malady.   Punitive therapeutics  must   be  more  enlightened  than  the  blind strategy of  prison severity  where all  that happens is sex starvation, brutalisation, criminal companionship, versatile vices through  bio-environmental pollution, dehumanised cell drill under  ’zoological’ conditions  and emergence,  at the time of  release, of  an embittered enemy of society and its values with  an indelible stigma as convict stamped on him-a potentially good  person  ’successfully’  processed  into  a hardened delinquent,  thanks to  the penal illiteracy of the Prison System. The Court must restore the man.      A hyper-sexed  homo sapiens  cannot be  habilitated  by humiliating or  harsh treatment,  but that  is precisely the perversion   of   unreformed   Jail   Justice   which   some criminologists have  described as  the crime  of punishment. This Court  has held,  in Sunil Batra’s case and later that, constitutionally viewed,  punitive deprivation  of  personal freedom must  be  goal-oriented  and  humanely  restorative, apart from  being deterrent.  The insulated years behind the insensitive  bars   must  possess   a  hospital  setting  if correction is  a social purpose, as Gandhiji often insisted. In-prison treatment  must, therefore,  be geared  to psychic healing, release  of stresses,  restoration of  self-respect and cultural  normalisation, apart  from training  to  adapt oneself to  the life  outside. The functional failure of our pachydermic prison  projects, exacerbated by its tension and trauma on  the one  hand and the reverse ethos inside on the other, deserves  judicial cognizance. The current efforts of Governments, Central  and State,  to reform jail regimen, we hope, will  give a  better deal  to the caged community. For these reasons,  in  this  case,  we  deem  it  desirable  to superadd to the sentence of imprisonment a few directives to ensure that the carceral period reforms the convict.      The appellant  is not  a ’habitual’  and has no vicious antecedents except this fugitive, randy molestation which is bad enough  in a society where women are often socially weak and sexually victimised. It may be marginally extenuatory to mention that  modern Indian  conditions  are  drifting  into societal  permissiveness   on  the  carnal  front  promoting proneness  to   pornos  in   life,   what   wit   libidinous ’brahmacharis’, womanising public men, lascivious dating and mating by  unwed students,  sex explosion  in celluloid  and book stalls and corrupt morals reaching a new ’high’ in high places.   The    unconvicted   deviants   in   society   are demoralisingly  large   and  the   State  has,  as  yet,  no convincing national  policy on  female flesh and sex sanity. We hope,  at this  belated hour, the Central Government will defend Indian  Womanhood by  stamping  out  voluptuous  meat markets by merciless criminal action. 592 Isolated prosecutions  and annual  suppression rhetoric will stultify the law where the vice is widespread and the larger felons are often let loose.      This  reflection   apart,  we  must,  as  part  of  the sentencing  package,  design  a  curative  course  for  this prisoner to  rid him of his aphrodisiac overflow and restore him into safe citizenship.      He is  a youth  barely 22  with no criminal antecedents save this  offence. He  has a  young wife and a farm to look after.  Given   correctional  courses  through  meditational

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therapy and other measures, his erotic aberration may wither away. A  man like the appellant has a reasonable prospect of shaping into  a balanced  person,  given  propitious  social environs, curative  and congenial  work  and  techniques  of internal stress release or of reformatory self expression.      In this  background, we  regard a  four  year  term  of rigorous imprisonment more hardening than habilitative, even though we  deplore the  sex violence the young appellant has inflicted  on   his  cousin’s   wife  snatching   a   tricky opportunity. Even  so, the  incriminating company  of lifers and others  for long  may be counter-productive, and in this perspective, we  blend deterrence with correction and reduce the sentence to rigorous imprisonment for two years. We wish to emphasise  that the  special circumstances  of this  case constrain us  to relent  a little  on principle  because the restorative approach  to sentencing  has been  jettisoned by the courts below.      The task  is not  done by  a negative  reduction in the prison term.  What is  more important  is a  set of positive prescriptions which  will ensure his turning a new leaf. One major method  in securing  this goal  is to  keep alive  the family tie  of the  person in  prison so  that  he  may  not deteriorate into  a non-person.  Within limits of the Prison Act and  Rules  thereunder,  the  State  Government  or  the Inspector General  of Prisons  will ensure  that on  parole, furlough or  orders, the young appellant turns a new leaf of normal life. N.K.A.                               Appeal allowed in part. 593