A magistrate’s court last month sentenced a 26-year-old labourer to three-years rigorous imprisonment for injuring a person while trying to rob him of Rs. 20 last year, after he pleaded guilty.
The youth Arjun Gaikwad had already spent over seven months in prison having been in judicial custody since September 24, last year. He pleaded guilty through a letter sent from jail by post in mid-March this year. The court received the letter the following month. Metropolitan Magistrate Jaydeo Y. Ghule said in his judgment that he is satisfied the plea is voluntary and that since the accused has pleaded guilty it is necessary to convict him.
While doing so, the court considered that Gaikwad has been in jail for 7 months and 12 days and hence that a lenient view needs to be taken.
As per the complaint registered against Gaikwad and his co-accused Vinod Gaikwad, on 20 September last year at Bandra police station, around 10.30 pm, on the road outside Rangsharada Hotel, Bandra West, the duo had hurt the right hand of the complainant Anil Ram while attempting to commit robbery of Rs. 20. Both were booked under Sec 394 of IPC (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and Sec 34 (common intention). The offence of causing hurt while committing or attempting to commit robbery can attract a prison term of upto 10 years and a fine and even life imprisonment.
