Assaulting stranger proves costly for alcoholic

A Delhi court ordered an alcoholic to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to a man who was beaten up by the former for refusing money for his daily quota of liquor.

A Delhi court ordered an alcoholic to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to a man who was beaten up by the former for refusing money for his daily quota of liquor.

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Mohd Aamin, a 24-year-old alcoholic, however, was lucky as additional sessions’ judge Sanjay Kumar let him off easy, despite convicting him on charges of inflicting injury, by sentencing him to 29 days’ jail term that Aamin already underwent during his trial.

“I sentence convict under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code (for causing simple injury) to undergo imprisonment for a period of 29 days and pay a fine of Rs 10,000,” said the judge, while setting off Aamin’s jail term against the imprisonment already undergone by him.

The judge, however, said: “It is a fit case where convict should compensate the injured Jilajeet. Hence, I direct the convict (Aamin) to deposit a compensation of Rs 10,000 to be released to injured Jilajeet.”

Though the alcoholic was booked for both causing simple injury and making an unintentional bid on the victim’s life under Section 308 of the IPC (attempt to culpable homicide), which entails a jail term of up to seven years, the court acquitted Aamin of the graver offence.

The court showed leniency to the alcoholic saying he committed the crime “on spur of the moment”.

"There was no intention or knowledge on the part of the accused to commit culpable homicide,” the judge said.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on the night of February 8, 2008, when Jilajeet was returning home from work.

Aamin had accosted Jilajeet and asked for money. But when Jilajeet refused to oblige Aamin, he got enraged and hit Jilajeet with a stone and ran away, leaving Jilajeet bleeding profusely and unconscious.