Supreme Court Reduces Robbery Conviction to Grievous Hurt

The Supreme Court on 7 October set aside a man’s conviction for voluntarily causing hurt during robbery and substituted a conviction for grievous hurt in a case arising from a 1993 farmhouse attack in Maharashtra. The Court said robbery was an essential element of Section 394 of the Indian Penal Code, but the alleged stolen jewellery was never recovered and its identity or value was not independently proved. It nevertheless found the complainant’s account that the accused struck her mouth, dislodging a tooth, was supported by medical evidence. That injury met the statutory definition of grievous hurt under Section 325. Taking account of the 63-year-old appellant’s roughly ten months in custody and the passage of more than three decades, the Court limited the sentence to time served, retained the ₹1,000 fine and ordered his release unless wanted in another case.