Judgment under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973Judgement is a basic term used in our daily lives. Generally, it means analysing a certain situation and forming a notion thereafter, In a legal sense, judgement is the decision given by the Court, after hearing both sides, it contains reasons for reaching such a conclusion. The judgement thus forms an important part of a legal process. A faulty judgement has the potential to deteriorate the very foundation of the legal justice system in the country. Therefore it is imperative to study various aspects of judgement from a judicial point of view.Object and scope Chapter XXVII of the CrPC, 1973, deals with Judgement. However there is no definition of "judgement” present in the Code, but itis to be understood as the final order of the Court. In the case of Ismail Amir Seiki vs. the State of Maharashtra, twas held that a judgment is the act of judging. It was pointed out that judgment should clearly mention the reason for accepting an argument and rejecting the other. ‘This chapter is very important as it shed light on the various provisions related to “judgement” in a Criminal proceeding. ‘This chapter applies all across IndiaForm and contents of the judgment under Section 353 In a Judgement Ratio decidendi and Obiter dicta form an integral part. Ratio decidendi is the binding statement in judgement and Obiter Dicta is the "by the way” remarks delivered by the judge which is not necessary to the case at hand. These two are very important as they define the legal principles which are useful to the legal fraternity. If the judgement is of acquittal- Whether the evidence of the prosecution absolutely failed to prove the guilt of the accused or merely failed to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. If the act or omission from which the liability might arise doesn't exist. If the judgement is of conviction- The essential elements of the offence committed by the accused and the intervening circumstances which led to the commission of this offence. Participation of the accused as the principal perpetrator, or accomplice or accessory. ‘The penalty that is imposed on the accused,Language and contents of judgment Under Section 354, of CrPC, itis stated that every judgement should be In the language of the Court. Shall contain the points of determination and the reason for the same. The offence should be specified and the reason for the same should be given for the same. The offence so committed must be mentioned in the IPC or any other law under which the crime is committed and the punishment is given. If the offender is acquitted, the offence for which he was acquitted, the reason for the same and it must be specified that a person is now a free man, 2. If the judgment is passed under the IPC and the judge is not certain as to under which Section the offence is committed or under which part of the Section, the judge should specify the same in the judgement and should pass orders in both the alternate situations, 3, The judgement shall furnish a proper reason for the conviction if it is a sentence for a term of life imprisonment and in case of death sentence the special reason has to be givenJudgment given by Metropolitan Magistrate under Section 355 Under Section 355 of the CrCP, it is mentioned that the judge instead of giving the judgement in an above- mentioned way, can deliver it in an abridged version that would contain- The serial number of the case, Date of the commission of the offence, Name of the complainant, Name of the accused person, his parentage and residence, Offence complained of or proved, Plea of the accused and his examination, Final order, Date of the order, In cases where the appeal lies from the final order, a brief statement of reasons for the decisionPost conviction orders in ew of punishment Post. conwition era Under Section 357 of the Code, the judgements tht ofthe conviction then the Court can order the ‘accused to pay compensation over and above the sentence of fine or mpesonment that aware fo hm “The Court can, ask the afender, to pay compensation, Farner, under Stn 8. the Court can order compensation to be given to the person who s groundessiy ‘arrested by the one who led to such false atast. The compensation 1 recovered as ine and Is gen to ‘compensate forthe loss of time and money ofthe person oroover in the case of non cognizable offences under Schedule ofthe code, and the juss has reeoWed 3 private complaint about the same. The judge can ask the accused, after convicting han, to pay tothe Prosecutor the necessary amount and expenses incurred in the process of prosecution Under Section 399 oF the Code, one ofthe most important forms of post-conviction order mentioned. whereby the accused i no coved ut lod ee we posing Some restrictions om Ms Mery 8 9 eeConvict to be released on good conduct or admonition Section 360 of the CrPC mentions a provision in which a person could be released on {good conduct or after admonition. In this, if a person is not under the age of 21 years and is not convicted of an offence which is punishable with a fine or a term which is seven years or less. Also if a person is more than 21 years of age or 2 woman is convicted of an offence which is not punishable with death sentence or life imprisonment and no previous conviction is against the person then if the Court deems it fit in accordance with the age, character, antecedents of the offender and the circumstance under which such offence was committed, that it is expedient to release the person on good conduct and the Court instead of punishing him may order him to be released in the sureties or not, as per the Court. Such a person has to appear before the Court to receive the sentence of the punishment not exceeding 3 years and in the meantime peace and good behaviour, must be exercised. If the first offender is convicted by the magistrate of the second class then the magistrate has to record its opinion to that effect and submit it to the first class magistrate, The first class magistrate will hear the case in the same manner as if it originally came to his Court and he may order further inquiries if he feels that itis, necessary to do so. He may order to record evidence or may do it by himself. If a person is convicted of theft, misappropriation cheating or any other offence under the IPC, and is punishable with not more than two years of imprisonment or fine. In this case, the person is not previously convicted of any other offence, the Court may if it thinks fit can release the person based on his age, antecedent, mental and physical condition, character, the trivial nature of the offence, or any circumstances which took place. The Court may release him after due admonition. An order under this Section could be given by Appellate Court or High Court or Court of Session while exercising its power of revision.Exercise of judicial discretion in sentencing without adequate knowledge about the offender Currently, India does not have structured sentencing guidelines. In March 2003, the Malimath Committee issued a report that emphasized the need to introduce sentencing guidelines in order to minimize uncertainty in awarding sentences. In 2008, the Madhava Menon Committee asserted the need for statutory sentencing guidelines, Moreover, the government is working to establish a “uniform sentencing policy” in line with the United States and the United Kingdom to do away with varied judgements, given by the judges. The sentencing procedure is established under the CrPC, which provides broad discretionary sentencing powers to judges. It is asserted by many authors that, in the absence of an adequate sentencing policy it comes down to the judges to decide which factors to take into account and which to ignore. Moreover, broad discretion gives a lot of room for personal prejudices of the judges to dictate the judgement Where the offender is not traced or identified, but the victim is identified, and where no trial takes place, the victim or his dependents can make an application to the State or the District Legal Services Authority for compensation. Upon receipt of such recommendations or application, the State or the District Legal Services Authority after due enquiry can award adequate compensation by completing the enquiryDecisions as to punishments Judicial discretion in sentencing Judicial discretion means that the judiciary is given some discretion to adjudicate certain cases accordingly. Under the doctrine of separation of power, this comes under judicial independence. The main part of the judicial discretion is present Under Section 360 of the CrPC which gives the power to the Judges to release the convicts on probation. But this power is limited to only a few conditions: Where the convict is a woman and is not punished for life imprisonment or the death sentence, Where the convict Is above 21 years of age and Is not punished for more than 7 years of the term, Where the convict is under the age of 21 years and he is not punished for the death sentence or life imprisonment. Also if the crime committed is of such a nature that the punishment awardable cannot be more than 2 years or a simple fine then, having consideration to the various factors connected to the convict, the Court may leave the convict without a sentence at all after mere admonition The Court also takes steps in case the person does not comply with the rules laid down at the time of release as provided under this Section such as re-arrest of the person. For release under these provisions, it is necessary that either the convict or the surety are residing or attend regular occupation in the jurisdiction of the Court.Sentence of desth ‘The old cade of 1898, before the normal punishment for the person committing murder, was death ‘ang life imprisonment was an exception, The effect was thatthe Court nad the discretion to eter ‘lve death sentence and ite imprisonment, However, inthe new code of 1973, which fs legates ‘according to the current scenario, the punishment now te the one commiting murder is of lite Imprisonment and the death sentence isto be given in an exceptional case. The death sentence ‘should be awarded only when the sentence af life imprisonment seems inadequate. The number of vietims, honever, wll not make a case, rarest ofthe rae, Where the ofence committed is vindictive and done in a pre-planned manner. The offence is ‘cornntted in a cold-bloades fashion then twill arsaunt toa crime which i rare ofthe rarest case, Death penalty sould be imposed only where the whole society expects the judiciary to award death sentence, While giving death penalty certain condltions should be Kept in mind Manner of commission of murder “The mative of the commission of murder, ‘Anti-social nature of the murder, ‘The personality of the vitin (more)Sentence of imprisonment Under Section 354 of the CrPC, when the conviction is for an offence punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of years, the judgment shall state the reasons for the sentence awarded, and, in the case of the death sentence, the special reasons for it. Moreover, when the conviction is for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a term of one year or more, but the Court imposes a sentence of imprisonment for a term less than three months, it shall record its reasons for the same, unless the sentence is one of imprisonment till the rising of the Court or the case was tried summarily.Sentence of fine Under Section 357 of the Code, when a Court imposes a sentence of fine or a sentence in which fine is also included then the Court while passing judgment may order the whole or any part of the fine recovered to be applied: In defraying the expenses incurred during the prosecution. In the payment to any person as compensation for any loss or injury caused by the offence, when compensation is recoverable in the Civil Court When any person is convicted of any offence for causing the death of another person or have encouraged the commission of such an offence, have to pay compensation to the persons who are, under the Fatal Accidents Act, 1855 entitled to recover damages from the person sentenced for the loss resulting to them from such death. When any person is convicted of any offence which includes theft, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, or cheating, or dishonestly receiving or retaining, or voluntarily assisting in disposing of stolen property knowing or believing the same to be stolen then compensation has to be given to the bona fide purchaser of such property for the loss of the same if such property is restored to the possession of the person entitled,