Man gets 7 years in jail for stabbing neighbour

A man has been sentenced to seven years in jail by a court here for stabbing his neighbour on a suspicion of his having an illicit relationship with his wife.
Additional Sessions Judge Ashutosh Kumar, who had held 45-year-old Satish guilty of attempting to kill his neighbour Sunil Kumar, awarded him the jail term saying "sentencing a convict is to provide deterrent to potential offenders so that they do not commit similar offence".
The court also handed four year jail term to Satish's friend, Ravinder and Heera Lal, who were convicted for the same offence, observing they were first-time offenders and they have a family to maintain.

"In the present case, convicts Satish, Ravinder and Heera Lal, in furtherance of their common intention, had caused serious stab injuries on the vital parts of the body of Sunil Kumar, as Satish suspected that Sunil Kumar had illicit relations with his wife.
"Even if he had a grudge, he should not have taken the law in his own hands. Further, had Sunil Kumar died because of the said injuries, one innocent valuable life would have been lost and his family would have been on the streets as it is common knowledge that in Indian society, it is the male head of the family who is the bread earner in most of the cases," the court said.

It also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of the three convicts, out of which Rs 20,000 each shall be paid to the injured Sunil Kumar as compensation," the court added.

As per the police, in February 2009, when the complainant Sunil was on his way back home in the evening, Satish, along with four of his associates, stopped his car and started beating him.
The police further stated that two of the associates of Satish had held Sunil from both sides, while Satish and one of his other associates, took out the knives and stabbed him many times, as a result of which the complainant received injuries in his stomach, neck, chest and face.

However, the accused had pleaded innocence and claimed trial in the case.