A Delhi court has held two men guilty of possessing a stolen car and sentenced them to varying jail terms already undergone by them in the case.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ashok Kumar awarded the jail term to Delhi residents Nazir and Khurshid for the period already undergone by them.
Khurshid was in jail for over last two years while Nazir had been in jail in connection with the case for more than seven months.
"It is clear that stolen vehicle...Was in possession of the accused person. Lastly, it is also clear that as the said vehicle did not belong to the accused, hence, they had every reason to believe that it is a stolen car and they are in the possession of the stolen property," the court said, while convicting the accused.
While awarding the punishment, the court said that the purpose of sentencing after conviction is a balancing act.
"On one hand, punishment should be sufficient to deter the accused not to repeat the offence in future and become a good member in the society. On the other hand, punishment should not be too harsh which results in accused becoming a hardcore criminal," the court said.
In its order, the court noted that while Khurshid was in judicial custody since April 24, 2012, Nazir remained in jail for more than 7 months and said "I sentence both the accused to period already undergone by them in the judicial custody."
The accused persons were sent for trial on the allegations that in March, 2012, they dishonestly received or retained one vehicle, knowing or having reasons to believe that the same was a stolen property.
Thereafter, they were charged under the sections 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), 34 (common intention) of IPC.
The accused, however, had taken plea of false implication while pleading innocence.
