The Not So Petty Law on Petty Offences
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This Blog is written by Bhagyashree Dutta from Amity University, Mumbai. Edited by Prakriti Dadsena.
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INTRODUCTION
An offense is often defined as a violation of the law, which can be either in the form of commission or omission of an act, to have a more precise meaning we can frame it to be a breach of law. On the other hand, petty in simple language means something which is minor in nature. Together, we derive what petty offense entails, to put into words petty offense can be recognized as an offense of a trivial nature. What distinguishes it from other offenses/crimes is the punishment awarded, which is usually a smidgen fine or a short term of imprisonment.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS DEVELOPMENT
The Acts mentioned in this article provide clarification on how the courts decide what is a petty offense, how they are tried, and if appeals can be made in such cases. In a heavily populated country like India, orderliness is not just a want but a need. It is crucial to not just take care of the heinous or serious offenses, but also those of petty nature in order to achieve a harmonious, peaceful, and organized surrounding.
IMPACT
These Acts are of extreme importance and while it deals with petty offenses only in a limited number of sections, they are almost as effective as other separate legislations which deal with other crimes. It empowers the Magistrate and State Governments with certain discretions which they can exercise while dealing with petty offenses, to meet the ends of justice as soon as possible. These Acts, however, do not limit themselves to only petty offenses, they deal with a wide area of criminal jurisprudence in India.
WHAT ARE PETTY OFFENCES IN THE INDIAN JURISPRUDENCE?
In Essang Nyong & Ors. v. State (NCT of Delhi)[1], petty offenses were defined as:
• Any minor offense whose gravity is less and the punishment supposed to be awarded won’t be very severe; or
• Any minor offense in which the offenders involved are first-time offenders and may be entitled to benefit of probation; or
• Any offense which can be settled with the imposition of a fine and subsequent payment of the same.
The term “minor offense” has not only been further defined but an extension on why petty offenses need some attention has also been stated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Director v. Union of India also known as the “Common Cause Case”, it held “It is a matter of common experience that in many cases where the persons are accused of minor offences punishable not more than three years or even less-with or without fine, the proceedings are kept pending for years together“.
PROVISIONS IN THE LEGISLATURE:
1. Petty offenses and the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973:
Objective: The objective of the provisions relating to petty offenses in the Code, is to provide speedy justice to every party involved in such a case, without compelling the parties to appear before the Court.
The Code of Criminal Procedure is equipped with provisions that deal with petty offenses.
(1) Section 206 sub-section (1) [2] contains the abridged procedure in cases of petty offenses under the Code. Section 260 of the Criminal Procedure Code which offers the power to try certain cases summarily, can be applied for disposing off petty offense u/s 206 only if the Magistrate is of the opinion that it can be so disposed.
• In any case, the abovementioned procedure shall not be applicable if the Magistrate, for reasons to be recorded in writing, decides not to dispose of the case summarily.
• Summons can be issued requiring the accused to appear before the Magistrate on a specified date, either in person or through his pleader.
• If the accused person desires to plead guilty to the charge, without appearing before the Magistrate, the said plea and the amount of fine mentioned in the special summons is to be transmitted within the specified time. Such transmission can be made either by post or by messenger to the Magistrate.
• In case the accused person desires to appear by pleader and plead guilty through such pleader, he may do so by authorizing the pleader in writing and paying the fine as mentioned in the special summons through such pleader.
(2) Section 206 sub-section (2) [3] of the Code states what should be considered as a petty offense. Petty offenses within the meaning of CrPC means any offense punishable with a fine and the amount of the respective fine specified in special summons should not exceed rupees one thousand.
• It does not include offenses so punishable under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, or under any other law which provides for convicting the accused person in his absence on a plea of guilty.
(3) Section 206 sub-section (3) authorizes the State Government to especially empower a Magistrate by notification to exercise powers u/s 206 of the crpc. These powers are conferred in relation to any offense which is compoundable u/s 320 or any offense which is punishable with imprisonment for a term not more than three months, or with fine, or with both – where the Magistrate having regards to the facts and circumstances of the case, is of the opinion that the imposition of fine only would be enough for meeting the ends of justice. [4]
Appeal:
Section 376 of the Criminal Procedure Code provides that there shall be no appeal in case of petty offenses. Petty offense or offenses which are treated as simple offense. The appeal, if any, ought to have been filed before the Session Court and not before the High Court.
Section 376: No appeal in petty cases. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 374, there shall be no appeal by a convicted person in any of the following cases, namely:
(a) where a High Court passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or of fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or of both such imprisonment and fine;
(b) where a Court of Session or a Metropolitan Magistrate passes only a sentence of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or of fine not exceeding two hundred rupees, or of both such imprisonment and fine;
(c) where a Magistrate of the first class passes only a sentence of fine not exceeding one hundred rupees; or
(d) where, in a case tried summarily, a Magistrate empowered to act under section 260 passes only a sentence of fine not exceeding two hundred rupees. [5]
The Code does not give the right to appeal in case of petty offenses, however, it comes with its exceptions.
Provided that an appeal may be brought against any such sentence if any other punishment is combined with it, but such sentence shall not be appealable merely on the ground-
(i) that the person convicted is ordered to furnish security to keep the peace; or
(ii) that a direction for imprisonment in default of payment of fine is included in the sentence; or
(iii) that more than one sentence of fine is passed in the case, if the total amount of fine imposed does not exceed the amount hereinbefore specified in respect of the case. [6]
2. Petty offenses and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015:
• The application of the definition of petty offenses under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 is only limited to juveniles, petty offenses are one of three classifications of offenses under the said Act, the other two being heinous offenses and serious offenses.
• Section 2(45) states “petty offenses” comprises of the offenses for which the maximum punishment under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or any other law for the time being in force is imprisonment not exceeding three years. [7]
• These offenses often include crimes such as theft, assault, causing simple hurt, forgery etc.
• Section 14 of the Act, requires the Juvenile Justice Board to complete its inquiry within a period of four months. This time period may be extended to six months (i.e., an extension of two months after four months). However, in case of any inquiry pending after the six months limitation, shall be terminated in case of petty offenses. [8] Therefore, the petty offenses under this Act, are disposed of in the same way as in a summary trial.
• Such automatic termination cannot be made in case of serious and heinous offenses.
• In case of petty offenses under the Act, the Police are not supposed to register an FIR (First Information Report), instead, it has to be recorded in a general diary supplementary to a social background report of the accused.
• In the case where a juvenile is accused of a petty offense, the police may release such juvenile on bail. In all other cases, only the Juvenile Justice Board is authorized to release a child on bail. [10]
CASE LAWS
Shivaji Narayan Bachhav v. State of Maharashtra [11]
In the respective case, the accused had made an appeal to the High Court which got summarily dismissed, with one word ‘dismissed’. Since summary dismissal of appeals of the High Court has been disapproved time and again by the High Court itself in numerous cases such as Mushtak Ali Hussein v. State of Bombay (AIR 1953 SC 282), Dagadu v. State of Maharashtra (1981 (2) SCC 535). This put the court in an embarrassing position in dealing with a special leave petition under Article 136 of the Indian Constitution.
It was held that despite the long series of judgments passed by the same High Court earlier, it did not act in a correct way. Every person convicted of an offense has the right to appeal under the Code of Criminal Procedure, except in cases of petty offenses and when an accused has pleaded guilty.
Manikandan v. The Director General of Police, Kamarajar Salai, Mylapore & Ors [12]
The petitioner in the respective case had applied and was successful in clearing the tests for Grade II Police Constable, in the year 2012. Despite clearing all the tests, he wasn’t selected and a writ petition was filed against the same. The reason for not being selected as the petitioner’s involvement in a petty offense u/s 75 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act and Tamil Nadu Gaming Act.
The Court held that persons involved in petty offenses cannot be denied of selection on the simple ground that they suppressed their involvement, considering the nature of the offense they are held guilty of. The nature of the offense is petty and cannot be brought under “moral turpitude” blindly.
ANALYSIS:
Ignorantia juris non excusat literally meaning ignorance of the law is not an excuse. It is often due to the trivial nature many times petty offenses either go unobserved, are ignored, or are repeated frequently. Ironically, most of time, even educated and aware individuals like us commit such offenses, something as obvious as not wearing a helmet while riding a bike. Lack of knowledge of the various aspects of petty offenses are needed to be showcased and made aware of in order to have a comparatively better, organized, and conscious-minded society wherein we are all the stakeholders.
Therefore, it is important to be aware of the law and this article is drafted for the same purpose. There is no law that specifically deals with petty offenses, however, the above-mentioned legislations which deal with them, have only a couple of sections dedicated to petty offenses. These sections for the time being seem to be effective when it comes to the regulation of these offenses, but we live in a dynamic society that is ever-changing, growing, and developing. The provision of having a summary trial for such offenses is in the interest of the judiciary, the justice system, and in the public interest as a whole. Petty offenses as mentioned above are minor in nature, they do not need to go through an entire trial process just to be awarded short imprisonment or a small fine, there are a lot of other crimes which need the court’s undisturbed attention. Such summary trial as under the Code reduces the burden of the court and its officers. This does not mean petty offenses should be ignored and the offender/accused should not be punished, at the end of the day, an offense is an offense, and punishment for the same is required to set ideal examples of conduct in a society. The problematic aspect is, the number of petty offenses that occur on a daily basis, not even half of them get reported because most people are not even aware that it is an offense and one of the foremost reasons for the same – is the non-existence of clear legislation. In my opinion, separate legislation and a separate body will aid in the speedy disposal of petty offenses, saving the court’s time and resources, serving justice, and maintaining a peaceful society.
The Criminal Procedure Code deals with all petty offenses which are eligible to try in accordance with the Code, which is “criminal” in nature. There is no concept of a petty offense in the civil arena as of now.
CONCLUSION
A petty offense should definitely not be ignored, the offender must be warned and punished in order to prevent such acts in the future. However, the commission of such offenses should not affect the overall life of the offender, present or future. In many cases, it was noticed that the selection or appointment of certain persons was canceled on the grounds that they had committed a petty offense sometime in their life. The toleration limit for such offenses must be increased.
REFERENCES
[1] 92 (2001) DLT 196.
[2] Section 206(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
[3] Section 206(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
[4] Section 206(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
[5] Section 376 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
[6] Section 376 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.
[7] Section 2(45) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
[8] Section 14 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
[9] Patna High Court, JJ Act, 2015 and Model Rules.
[10] 1983 SCR (3) 651.
[11] W.P. (MD). No. 6095 of 2013.
[12] The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973
(https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1974-02.pdf)
[13] The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (http://www.bareactslive.com/ACA/act2857.htm)
[14] Casemine – Case Laws
[15] Indiankanoon – Case Laws
[16] Patna High Court, FAQs on JJ Act, 2015 and Model Rules