Telangana HC spares woman jail term, oks Rs 1 lakh 'penance' amount

HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Telangana high court has allowed a widow and two of her relatives, who were convicted in a contempt case, to purge themselves from the contempt case by paying Rs 1 lakh as 'penance' to Saraswati Shishu Mandir School in Bhadrachalam.
The bench of justices P Naveen Rao and Nagesh Bhimapaka, that heard the contempt case filed by A Vijayraj Soni of Secunderabad, however, asked B Sushmita and two others to pay Rs 2,000 as penalty as proof of their guilt, reports Sagar Kumar Mutha.They were facing allegations of transferring a piece of their property to third parties despite a restraint order from the court.
They were convicted in the contempt case and were asked to undergo 15-day jail sentence. The bench, which convicted the woman for transgressing the court orders, also asked the aggrieved party to take steps to protect the property simultaneously.
"Since this is a contempt case, we deal exclusively with the conduct of the contemnor," the bench said. At this stage, Sushmita came forward with the idea of paying 1 lakh for social cause in lieu of serving the jail term.
"My family and my daughters, who are abroad, would be put to great difficulty if I am sent to jail," she pleaded with the bench. The bench then allowed her plea and asked her to pay Rs 1 lakh to the school in Bhadrachalam.