Re: thought for the day
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 11:32 am
"When the incident happened the respondent must have been about 20 years of age. At that age young people often commit indiscretions, and such indiscretions can often been condoned. After all, youth will be youth. They are not expected to behave in as mature a manner as older people. Hence, our approach should be to condone minor indiscretions made by young people rather than to brand them as criminals for the rest of their lives.
In this connection, we may refer to the character 'Jean Valjean' in Victor Hugo's novel 'Les Miserables', in which for committing a minor offence of stealing a loaf of bread for his hungry family Jean Valjean was branded as a thief for his whole life.
The modern approach should be to reform a person instead of branding him as a criminal all his life." - Supreme Court of India in Commissioner of Police and Others Vs. Sandeep Kumar, Civil Appeal Number 1430 OF 2007, bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra.
The respondent had applied for the post of Head Constable (Ministerial) in 1999. In the application form it was printed : “12(a) Have you ever been arrested, prosecuted kept under detention or bound down/fined, convicted by a court of law for any offence debarred/disqualified by any Public Service Commission from appearing at its examination/selection or debarred from any Examination, rusticated by any university or any other education authority/Institution.” Against that column the respondent had written: 'No'.
It was alleged that this is a false statement made by the respondent because he and some of his family members were involved in a criminal case being FIR 362 under Section 325/34 IPC. This case was admittedly compromised on 18.01.1998 and the respondent and his family members were acquitted on 18.01.1998.
In this connection, we may refer to the character 'Jean Valjean' in Victor Hugo's novel 'Les Miserables', in which for committing a minor offence of stealing a loaf of bread for his hungry family Jean Valjean was branded as a thief for his whole life.
The modern approach should be to reform a person instead of branding him as a criminal all his life." - Supreme Court of India in Commissioner of Police and Others Vs. Sandeep Kumar, Civil Appeal Number 1430 OF 2007, bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra.
The respondent had applied for the post of Head Constable (Ministerial) in 1999. In the application form it was printed : “12(a) Have you ever been arrested, prosecuted kept under detention or bound down/fined, convicted by a court of law for any offence debarred/disqualified by any Public Service Commission from appearing at its examination/selection or debarred from any Examination, rusticated by any university or any other education authority/Institution.” Against that column the respondent had written: 'No'.
It was alleged that this is a false statement made by the respondent because he and some of his family members were involved in a criminal case being FIR 362 under Section 325/34 IPC. This case was admittedly compromised on 18.01.1998 and the respondent and his family members were acquitted on 18.01.1998.