M A I N   N E W S

27 years later
Apex court refuses relief to Himachal Govt engineer
Says job loss, years of trial ordeal can’t affect sentence
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

(The sentence) cannot be said to be excessive, calling for interference in this appeal — SC Bench

New Delhi, April 10
The Supreme Court has refused to reduce the one-year sentence awarded to an engineer of the Himachal Pradesh Irrigation and Public Health Department for corruption despite the fact that the crime was committed 27 years ago and that the convict had suffered loss of job and the ordeal of the long-winding trial and appeals.

The trial court had sentenced Kuldeep Sharma, who was Junior Engineer at the Jubbal Sub-Division, for making bogus entries in the muster roll of workers in July 1984. The High Court reduced the sentence to one year for some reasons. Kuldeep filed an appeal in the SC challenging the conviction. His counsel sought at least further reduction in sentence, restricting to the period already undergone.

A Bench comprising Justices Harjit Singh Bedi and Chandramauli Kr. Prasad did make it a point to record the pleadings: "The occurrence had taken place as back in the year 1984 and the appellant had not only suffered ordeal of trial and appeal for long 27 years and in fact lost the job also and in such a situation, the ends of justice shall be met if the sentence of the appellant is reduced to the period already undergone."

Rejecting the pleas, the SC ruled that the sentence "cannot be said to be excessive, calling for interference in this appeal."