Carpenter guilty of drunk driving ordered to do community service in temple
31 Oct 2012 6:02 AM IST
A carpenter sentenced to 20 days in jail for driving his motorcycle in an inebriated state has been ordered by a Delhi court to do community service instead at a temple here once a week for two months.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat asked West Delhi resident Salik Ram Sharma to do the service, setting aside the jail term given to him by a magisterial court.
‘The appellant [Sharma] is a married person having four minor children to look after and is the only bread earner of his family. Hence, imprisonment at this stage would put an indelible blot on his reputation as carpenter and would seriously affect the upbringing of his four minor children. It would be difficult for the appellant to find work and earn his livelihood,’ the ASJ said.
The court released 33-year-old Salik Ram Sharma on probation and asked him to perform community service at Sai Baba Mandir at Najafgarh Road here every Thursday for two months.
‘The sentencing policy followed in India is based upon reformative theory and not on retributive theory. The purpose of sentence is and should be to reform a criminal so as to convert him into a law abiding citizen.
‘While dealing with petty cases such as the present one, wherever it is felt necessary, the principle contained in almost all the religious scripture that forgiveness is the best punishment should be invoked,’ the judge said.
The court’s order came on Sharma’s plea challenging the magistrate’s 17 August order sentencing him to 20 days in jail for driving his motorcycle in an inebriated state.
Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat asked West Delhi resident Salik Ram Sharma to do the service, setting aside the jail term given to him by a magisterial court.
‘The appellant [Sharma] is a married person having four minor children to look after and is the only bread earner of his family. Hence, imprisonment at this stage would put an indelible blot on his reputation as carpenter and would seriously affect the upbringing of his four minor children. It would be difficult for the appellant to find work and earn his livelihood,’ the ASJ said.
The court released 33-year-old Salik Ram Sharma on probation and asked him to perform community service at Sai Baba Mandir at Najafgarh Road here every Thursday for two months.
‘The sentencing policy followed in India is based upon reformative theory and not on retributive theory. The purpose of sentence is and should be to reform a criminal so as to convert him into a law abiding citizen.
‘While dealing with petty cases such as the present one, wherever it is felt necessary, the principle contained in almost all the religious scripture that forgiveness is the best punishment should be invoked,’ the judge said.
The court’s order came on Sharma’s plea challenging the magistrate’s 17 August order sentencing him to 20 days in jail for driving his motorcycle in an inebriated state.
Next Story
