The top court said that it cannot be said that there is no possibility of reform and rehabilitation of the appellant, to close the alternative option of lesser sentence and to make the death penalty mandatory.
Highlight
- Supreme Court commutes death sentence of one convicted of murdering his 2 siblings, nephew.
- The SC said that the court should take into account the crime as well as the state of mind of the offender.
- SC noted – The accused is from rural, economically poor background and has no criminal history.
The Supreme Court on Friday commuted the death sentence of a convict for the murder of his two siblings and nephew in a property dispute, saying the court should take into account the crime as well as the state of mind of the offender while awarding the sentence. should be kept in
The accused, who committed the offense for the first time, had challenged the High Court order in the apex court on April 4, 2017 after the trial court sentenced him to death.
A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, BR Gavai and BV Nagarathna observed: “From the judgment of the trial court as well as the High Court, it does not appear that the courts below have prepared a balance sheet of mitigating and deteriorating circumstances.
“The Trial Court as well as the High Court has taken into account only the offense but not the offender, his state of mind, his socio-economic background, etc.”
The bench observed that the accused are from rural and economically poor background and have no criminal history.
“The appellant cannot be said to be a hardened offender. This being the first offense committed by the appellant is, undoubtedly, a heinous offence. The certificate issued by the Jail Superintendent shows that the conduct of the appellant during his imprisonment has been satisfactory,” Justice Gavai, who wrote the judgment on behalf of the bench, said.
The top court said that it cannot be said that there is no possibility of reform and rehabilitation of the appellant, to close the alternative option of lesser sentence and to make the death penalty mandatory.
Citing these reasons, the apex court commuted the death sentence of the accused to 30 years of imprisonment.
The bench observed: “Given the established legal position, it is our duty to take into account the possibility of recovery and rehabilitation of the accused. It is our duty to take into account not only the offense but also the offender, his mental state and his socio-economic condition.” “
The bench said that the state government has not produced any evidence to show that there is no possibility with respect to reform or rehabilitation of the convicts.
It stated that the trial court had convicted the appellant and awarded death sentence on the same day. “From the judgment of the lower court, it does not appear that the appellant was given reasonable time and genuine opportunity of being heard on the question of sentence,” the bench said.
Bhagchandra was convicted in October 2015 of the murder of his brothers – Thakur Das and Devaki Prasad – and Devki Prasad’s son Akhilesh. A case was registered at the police station, Maharajpur.
(with IANS inputs)
Read also | SC asks Air Quality Commission to take decision on lifting construction ban, industrial ban
I
,