Punishment for shooting: Kar sewa at gurdwara

THE COURT WARNED THAT IF ITS ORDER IS FLOUTED IT WILL RECALL VERDICT TO QUASH FIR

NEWDELHI: An extramarital affair that ended with three people getting injured from bullet shots caught the attention of the Delhi high court on Wednesday which, in an unusual order, directed the shooter to perform Kar Sewa for eight weeks at a Gurudwara in West Delhi.

Justice Vinod Goel quashed the criminal proceedings and FIR lodged against the man who accidentally shot at his lover and her husband and later shot at himself in a bid to commit suicide.

The decision was taken after the event was narrated to the court. In 2000, a boy and a girl fell in love while studying at a college in Guwahati. In 2008, they performed a court marriage which was only known to the family members of the boy.

After the marriage, the wife continued to live with her parents as she did not disclose her marriage to her parents. With time the relation between the couple began to deteriorate and they grew distant of each other.

In 2016, the woman came in contact with a man residing in Delhi and the two fell in love. She had come to the city for a threemonth training. Later, her husband came to Delhi for business purposes and to meet his wife. When the husband visited her the hostel where she was staying, he became aware of her affair.

The husband confronted his wife and the man contending that she cannot marry him as she was already married. He further told his wife that he would take her back to Guwahati after she completes her training. On hearing this, the other man got angry and took out his father’s licensed pistol and tried shooting himself. When the woman tried to snatch the pistol from her lover, the pistol fired accidentally, hurting her and her husband. The man then shot himself. All three injured were admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment. The police registered an FIR against the man for attempt to murder and various sections of the Arms Act.

The parties, however, entered into a compromise and decided to amicably settle all their disputes with the help of family members.

The HC, which was hearing the man’s plea seeking to quash the FIR, observed that, “All parties are still young and have their whole life ahead of them. It is clear that a cloud of passion and rage did not allow them to comprehend the consequences of their actions...”

“In the facts and circumstances of the case, since the matter has been amicably settled between the parties and having regard to the fact that the petitioner is still relatively young and his future career shall be jeopardised if the criminal proceedings are continued against him, no fruitful purpose would be served in further pursuing the said FIR,” justice Goel remarked quashing the FIR.

The judge, however, ordered that the man shall perform Kar Sewa at a gurdwara in Dwarka, once a week for three hours for eight weeks.

It also directed the man to deposit ₹20,000 with the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.