Ajit Saw vs The State Of Jharkhand on 18 February, 2026

Supreme Court – Daily Orders

Ajit Saw vs The State Of Jharkhand on 18 February, 2026

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                                           IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

                                           CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION



                                   CRIMINAL APPEAL NO(S).                OF 2026.
                                    (Arising out of SLP(Crl.)No(s). 111-112/2026)


                         AJIT SAW & ANR.                                      APPELLANT(S)

                                                              VERSUS


                         THE STATE OF JHARKHAND                                 RESPONDENT(S)



                                                        O R D E R

1. Leave granted.

2. The appellants in the present appeals have been

convicted for the offences punishable under Section 307

read with Section 149, Section 341 read with Section

149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘the

IPC’) and under Section 27 of the Arms Act, 1959, by

the Trial Court vide the judgment of conviction dated

22.03.2024 in the Sessions Trial Case No.252/2022. The

appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous

imprisonment for a period of 7 years, along with a fine

of Rs.25,000/- for the offences punishable under
Signature Not Verified

Section 307 read with Section 149 of the IPC, simple
Digitally signed by
Nirmala Negi
Date: 2026.02.19
16:35:45 IST
Reason:

imprisonment for a period of 1 month for the offences

punishable under Section 341 read with Section 149 of
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the IPC, and rigorous imprisonment for a period of 5

years for the offences punishable under Section 27 of

the Arms Act, 1959, along with default stipulations,

vide the order on sentence dated 30.03.2024. The

appeals filed by the appellants against the judgment of

conviction and the order on sentence passed by the

Trial Court were dismissed by the High Court. Aggrieved

by the same, the present appeals have been filed.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the appellants

submit that the appellants were convicted with the

assistance of Section 149 of the IPC. Other than the

reliance made on the said provision, the only evidence

against the appellants is the statement given by the

injured victim in the said case who is also an eye-

witness.

4. Learned counsel appearing for the State submits

that the testimony of the injured eye-witness has

rightly been taken into account by both the Court and

the Trial Court, and the same cannot be ignored.

5. We have heard the learned counsel appearing for

the parties.

6. We are inclined to uphold the conviction

rendered to the appellants insofar as the testimony of

the injured eye-witness clearly implicates the

appellants, notwithstanding the fact that the other co-

accused persons have been given the benefit of

acquittal. We have also been informed by the learned
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counsel for the appellants that the appellants do not

have any other criminal antecedents, and they have

already been under incarceration for over a period of 3

years.

7. Considering the aforesaid position and the

mitigating circumstances, we are inclined to modify the

sentence awarded to the appellants to the period

already undergone by them.

8. Accordingly, the appeals are partly allowed to

the extent of the sentence imposed to undergo rigorous

imprisonment for a period of 7 years to the appellants,

stands modified to the period already undergone by the

appellants.

9. The appellants shall be released forthwith,

unless their custody is required in any other case.

10. Pending application(s), if any shall also stand

disposed of.

………………..J.
[M.M. SUNDRESH]

……………….J.
[NONGMEIKAPAM KOTISWAR SINGH]

New Delhi;

February 18, 2026.

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ITEM NO.19 COURT NO.5 SECTION II-A

S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s).
111-112/2026

[Arising out of impugned final judgment and orders dated
14-08-2025 in CRA(SJ) No. 267/2024 & CRA(SJ) No.
234/2024 passed by the High Court of Jharkhand at
Ranchi]

AJIT SAW & ANR. Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
THE STATE OF JHARKHAND Respondent(s)

Date : 18-02-2026 These petitions were called on for
hearing today.

CORAM :

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE M.M. SUNDRESH
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE NONGMEIKAPAM KOTISWAR SINGH

For Petitioner(s) Ms. Mrigna Shekhar, Adv.

Ms. Vanya Gupta, AOR
Ms. Kriti Singh, Adv.

For Respondent(s) Mr. Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi, Adv.

Ms. Madhusmita Bora, AOR
Mr. Pawan Kishore Singh, Adv.
Mr. Dipankar Singh, Adv.

Ms. Pavithra V., Adv.

Mr. Vaibhav Chechi, Adv.

UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R

1. Leave granted.

2. The appeals are partly allowed in terms of the

signed order, which is placed on the file.

3. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed

of.

(NIRMALA NEGI)                               (POONAM VAID)
ASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS                    ASSISTANT REGISTRAR