Two recent decisions of the Supreme Court raise the question whether a convicted man can spare himself years of jail time by entering into what seems to be a rather opportune marriage with his victim or to a member of the victim's family.
In June, the apex court used its extraordinary power under Article 142 to release a man convicted of attempt to murder because he married his victim's sister while the case was still pending in the Madras High Court.
The top court noted that all the people involved were living in the same locality. The parties involved had approached the Supreme Court to set aside the conviction "in order to bring peace and in order to live cordially". The accused had spent just 18 months in jail.
