The court turned down the plea seeking a lenient view

against 39-year-old Maan by his counsel who said that in all previous criminal cases registered against the convict, he had been acquitted and had clean antecedents. "To maintain the faith of witnesses in the criminal justice delivery system, a strong message has to be given to potential offenders that in case witnesses of criminal trial are going to be threatened, intimidated or shot at, as in the present case, then the court will definitely rise to the occasion and will inflict very harsh and a strict punishment upon the offenders," the judge said. The court, in its order, said if the convict has the audacity of shooting at a witness just because he had deposed against him in a previous criminal case, then he should be brave enough to face the consequences of his act and not plead for leniency on the ground that he has a family to look after. "The convict should have thought about his family before committing the offence under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC in question. Therefore, in the opinion of this court, the convict does not deserve any leniency," the judge said.