In an unusual ruling, a Delhi court has sentenced a man to a mere nine months of imprisonment in a 2017 attempt to murder case where he attacked his cousin after being denied money to buy liquor.

The convict however will walk free as he has already undergone detention for a little over nine months.

Under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, applicable in the present case, the offence of attempt to murder is punishable with imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine. If a person is hurt by the offence, the imprisonment can be extended to life.

The court took a lenient view while deciding the quantum of sentence after noting the victim's submissions about forgiving the convicted cousin and claiming both were "living in harmony" after resolving their differences.

Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Pahuja was hearing the arguments on sentencing against Naveen Kumar who was convicted under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC.

According to the prosecution, an inebriated Kumar attacked his cousin Mukesh with a surgical blade after claiming that a few days ago, the victim refused him money to buy liquor.

The incident occurred on November 17, 2017, and Mahesh suffered serious injuries on his vital body parts, it said.

In an order passed on November 25, the court said, "Complainant (Mahesh) who is present in the court today has submitted that convict is his cousin brother, hence, there is no bad blood between them so he does not want any monetary compensation from the convict and also prays for lenient view against the convict in terms of punishment."

The court underscored the victim had forgiven the convict for his deeds and resolved all the disputes and had been "living in harmony" for the past several years.

The court noted Kumar did not have a criminal history and had a "good social background".

It said, "Convict (also) has a medical record pertaining to mental illness for which he has been under treatment for the last 20 years."

The court sentenced Kumar to rigorous imprisonment of nine months and a fine of Rs 20,000, saying it had balanced the aggravating and mitigating factors.

Kumar, however, got the reprieve of Section 428 of CrPC, which allows the period of detention undergone by an accused to be set off against their sentence.

"As the convict has remained in judicial custody for nine months 17 days as per the record, therefore the benefit of Section 428 CrPC be given to the convict and the period already undergone in custody be adjusted against the sentenced period," the court said.

Crucially, the court convicted Kumar after rejecting the plea of insanity taken by his counsel.

It said at the time of committing the offence, Kumar was not suffering from any mental disorder and he was very much aware of his violent act.

"If the words and actions of the accused clearly demonstrate that he is capable of understanding the nature of his act during the commission of offence, he cannot take the benefit of plea of insanity," held the court.