MADURAI
After a sessions judge had inadvertently mentioned Section 302 of the IPC in the order instead of Section 304 (1) while convicting the accused in a murder case, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday allowed the State to file an appeal to seek enhancement of the sentence.
The sessions judge had awarded a sentence of 10 and seven years to the accused in a murder case, while intending to convict them under Section 304 (1) of the IPC. The judge had inadvertently mentioned Section 302 in the order.
In an explanation submitted to a Division Bench of Justices S. Vaidyanathan and N. Anand Venkatesh, the judge said that the error was due to an oversight.
The Bench had sought an explanation from the judge after it was taken aback by the order that had convicted the accused under Section 302 and awarded sentences of 10 and seven years. Section 302 specifically provided that whoever committed murder should be punished with death or imprisonment for life and should also be liable to pay a fine, the court said.
Calling it an inadvertent mistake, the court observed that had the judge convicted the accused under Section 304 (1) (Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), things would have fallen in place. The court adjourned the hearing till November 7.
