Appeal by a surety against penalty for accused's non-appearance. Court upheld the imposition but reduced the penalty from Rs.50,000 to Rs.20,000 considering the bond amount and the appellant being a woman.
Penalty reduced from Rs.50,000/- to Rs.20,000/- payable by the appellant.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P.G. AJITHKUMAR
FRIDAY, THE 5TH DAY OF APRIL 2024 / 16TH CHAITHRA, 1946
CRL.A NO. 514 OF 2024
CRIME NO.67/2017 OF Payyannur Police Station, Kannur
AGAINST THE ORDER/JUDGMENT DATED IN SC NO.811 OF 2017 OF FAST
TRACK SPECIAL COURT, THALIPARAMBA
APPELLANT/S:
JALAJA M
AGED 36 YEARS
W/O. GANGADHARAN, POONKARANAM HOUSE, KIZHAKKUMKARA,
MUCHILOTTU TEMPLE, AJANUR, KASARGODE, PIN - 671531
BY ADVS.
THOMAS T.VARGHESE
PHILIP T.VARGHESE
ACHU SUBHA ABRAHAM
V.T.LITHA
K.R.MONISHA
JIJO PAUL
ANJALI SUNIL
RESPONDENT/S:
STATE OF KERALA
REPRESENTED BY PUBLIC PROSECUTOR,HIGH COURT OF KERALA,
PIN - 682031
OTHER PRESENT:
SEENA C...GP
THIS CRIMINAL APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
05.04.2024, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
CRL.A.NO.514 of 2024
2
P.G.AJITHKUMAR, J .
CRL.A. NO. 514 OF 2024
Dated this the 5th day of April, 2024
O R D E R
This appeal is filed under Sec.449 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure 1973.
2.Heard the learned counsel for the appellant
and the learned Public Prosecutor.
3.The appellant is one of the sureties of
the accused in SC No.811/2017 on the files of Fast
Track Court Special Court, Taliparamba. Since the
accused failed to appear before the Court and
thereby the bond the appellant had executed stood
forfeited, the Trial Court initiated MC NO.1/2020
against appellant and her co-surety. It is seen
from the impugned order that, despite giving
notice, the appellant did not choose to appear
before the Trial Court or submit any explanation
for not paying the penalty. In that circumstance,
the Trial Court imposed penalty of Rs.50,000/- on
the appellant.
CRL.A.NO.514 of 2024
3
4.The counsel for the appellant submits that
notice was not served on the appellant and
therefore she was not in a position to appear
before the court and offer explanation. The said
contention is not able to be accepted. Since the
observation in the impugned order is that notice
was served on both sureties. Later they received
notice demanding payment of the penalty amount.
Thereafter also, they did not choose to produce the
accused before the Court. Although that would not
absolve them, that would have established their
bonafides. In the circumstances, I am unable to
find that the impugned order imposing fine is
wrong.
The learned counsel for the appellant would
submit that appellant is living in penury and
the Trial Court did not consider any of
the attending circumstances before imposing a
penalty of Rs.50,000/-. No materials are produced
by the ppellant about their financial conditions.
CRL.A.NO.514 of 2024
4
However, considering that the amount of bond is
Rs.50,000/- and the appellant is a woman, a lenient
view is taken. Instead of Rs.50,000/-, the
appellant is ordered to pay an amount of
Rs.20,000/- as penalty.
Sd/-
P .G.AJITHKUMAR JUDGE
SM
CRL.A.NO.514 of 2024
5
APPENDIX OF CRL.A 514/2024
PETITIONER ANNEXURES
Annexure A1TRUE COPY OF THE NOTICE ISSUED TO THE
APPELLANT BY THE SPECIAL JUDGE, FAST TRACK
SPECIALCOURT,TALIPARAMBADATED
04.12.2023
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the penalty imposed on a surety under Section 449 CrPC after forfeiture of her bond was justified despite the claim that notice was not served.
Whether the penalty amount should be reduced considering the appellant's financial condition.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Jalaja M
State of Kerala
P.G. Ajithkumar
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court