Court sets aside jail term of mentally unstable man

Taking a lenient view, a Delhi court has modified the two-year jail term given to a mentally unstable man for grievously injuring a person 16 years ago and released him on probation.
Additional Sessions Judge Hemani Malhotra released Satish Kumar Bhalla, a Delhi resident, on probation for six months on a surety of Rs 10,000 while upholding his conviction for the offence under section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt using deadly weapon) of the Indian Penal Code.
"In view of the psychological condition of the convict and the fact that he has been facing trial since May 1999 i.E. for last 16 years coupled with the fact that he has compensated the injured by giving him Rs 10,000 in terms of amicable settlement, lenient view is taken...

"...And sentence awarded to him by trial court is modified to the extent that he be given benefit of Probation Offenders Act," the judge said.
The court, while disposing off Bhalla's appeal against the sentence awarded to him by a metropolitan magistrate on May 9, 2014, accepted his counsel's submission that during the trial since 1999, Bhalla had suffered mental disability to the extent that he was unable to fend for himself and was completely financially dependent upon his younger sister.
"Convict is ordered to be released on furnishing probation bond to the tune of Rs 10,000 with one surety of like amount for a period of six months with direction to maintain peace and good behaviour in the society," the court said while releasing him on probation.

According to the complaint filed against Bhalla, on August 25, 1998, he had assaulted one Mast Ram with a pair of scissors and grievously injured him. During the trial, he had denied the allegations.
He was convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by a trial court here in May this year.