Friday, November 15, 2013
Man gets death for killing woman
Friday, November 1, 2013
Man sentenced to death for Haridwar rape, double murder
Monday, October 14, 2013
There is class bias in awarding death penalty
Harsh Mander, Hindustan Times October 13, 2013
Last Updated: 23:22 IST(13/10/2013)
Last winter, two men were hanged to death in India’s jails, indicted for crimes of terror. On August 8, another man, Maganlal Barela— a little-known tribal cultivator, charged with killing his five little daughters — was scheduled to hang in the Jabalpur Central Jail.
Human rights lawyers chanced to read of his hanging in an online news item the evening before his execution was fixed, and rushed to meet Supreme Court Chief Justice P Sathasivam. The chief justice agreed to hear them that evening and concurred that even after the president rejects the mercy petition of a death row convict, there is one more legal remedy: to challenge this rejection in the Supreme Court. Barela was too poor to afford a lawyer in the higher courts but for the team of committed human rights lawyers — Yug Chaudhary, Siddhartha and Colin Gonsalves — and the stay granted by Justice Sathasivam, he would have been sent to the gallows.
There are many reasons I oppose his death penalty. The gravity of his crime is not one of them, nor the merits of the judgment holding him guilty. My consideration is the class bias of capital punishment. It can hardly be a coincidence that the majority of the 414 people who faced the gallows in India as of the end of 2012 are impoverished, dependent at best on legal aid lawyers.
I recently visited Barela’s family living on the outskirts of a tribal Barela hamlet outside Kaneria village in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh. Their crumbling home, the sickly pallor of their children’s skin and hair, and their gaunt frames and tired faces testify to lives of unrelenting struggle and want.
Barela’s brothers and two wives said that the only months in which food is secure are those that follow the occasional good monsoon, when they live on what they grow on their acre of dry-land. At other times, they await uncertain daily-wage employment from the forest department, or gather firewood in the forests and sell them. After the crime, Barela’s brothers pooled Rs. 5,000 and hired a local lawyer. Once he was convicted in the trial court, they had no further idea about the progress of the case, until they abruptly received notice of his hanging. Barela was represented by legal aid lawyers who never met them. The Supreme Court refused to even admit his petition — let alone hear it on merits — with a single line order. I am convinced that his fate could have been different if he was represented by a high-profile lawyer.
Just the few hours we spent in the village threw up many possible arguments which could have been made, if not for his innocence, at least to mitigate his inclusion in the ‘rarest of the rare’ cases meriting the highest penalty of death.
There was, first, his manifest abject poverty. Also, not just his wives and brothers, but other villagers testified to his affable nature, the absence of any history of violence and crime, and that he loved his daughters dearly. Villagers said that his behaviour changed dramatically four months before the grisly offence.
He suddenly became withdrawn and quiet, and would wander alone for hours in the forests. Villagers explained this as black magic. A more convincing explanation could be of mental illness, perhaps a temporary breakdown because he could not make ends meet.
He is receiving psychiatric medication in the Jabalpur prison. The threshold of insanity required if courts are to declare a person innocent is very high. But if evidence from villagers and neighbours suggesting mental illness could have been brought before the courts, could this not have persuaded the courts to at least not hang him?
Additionally, the case against Barela is based on circumstantial evidence, as there are no eye-witnesses to the crime.
In a similar case in which a man killed his children, the apex court recently awarded reprieve from capital punishment partly on grounds of the mitigating circumstances of “poverty, socio-economic, psychic compulsions and undeserved adversities in life”.
In the infamous tandoor case, a Bench headed by the chief justice observed that this was not a ‘crime against society’, and the appellant had no criminal antecedents. All these same arguments could equally apply to Barela’s case.
If only Barela’s family could have afforded effective legal representation in the trial and higher courts, it is possible that the trial court’s sentence could have been less severe, and the higher courts could have come to similar conclusions about mitigating circumstances. Are we then actually hanging Barela only because of his crime of being poor?
There are also larger philosophical questions about why a society chooses to execute those who violate human and social morality. Is our motivation to prevent further crimes? Do we credibly believe that the next time a father is driven to consider murdering his own children — in a moment of intense rage, despair or madness — he will be deterred only because of the possibility that he may be hanged to death? Barela’s brother says he tried to hang himself after the killing of his daughters, and was saved only because his brother cut the rope in time. Or is our objective in seeking capital punishment actually of retribution, to take the life of a person who outrages and violates what we cherish: in this case a murderous father?
It is evident that persons most directly violated by the crime — the mothers of the five girls who were killed— have forgiven him for what the courts have found him guilty. They recalled to us how he was an affectionate father and a kind husband, how he loved his children, and that he never raised a hand on any of them before that horrific day.
Their fields lie fallow; their older son has had to drop out of school and instead grazes cattle. “We only wish he could return home and take care of his family”, his wives say.
If they can forgive him, can we not?
Harsh Mander is Director, Centre for Equity Studies
The views expressed by the author are personal
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorial-views-on/ColumnsOthers/There-is-class-bias-in-awarding-death-penalty/Article1-1134733.aspx#.UluZ33Sg5yA.email [accessed 14th October 2013]
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Man gets death penalty for rape-murder of 8-year-old
Nitesh
Kumar Sharma, TNN | Oct 2, 2013, 05.05 AM IST
JAIPUR: The district court in Rajsamand on
Tuesday awarded death penalty to
a man for raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl nine months ago.
Sessions judge Chandra Shekhar said the 24-year old convict, Manoj Pratap Singh, had committed the ghastly act of "brutally killing a helpless and mentally challenged" child after raping her.
"Manoj is a bolt on the society and the humanity at large. He deserved to be punished with the capital punishment," the judge said in a packed courtroom.
The prosecution presented 25 witnesses and 51 supporting documents including a DNA report during the trial which began after police filed chargesheet on February 4 this year.
Sessions judge Chandra Shekhar said the 24-year old convict, Manoj Pratap Singh, had committed the ghastly act of "brutally killing a helpless and mentally challenged" child after raping her.
"Manoj is a bolt on the society and the humanity at large. He deserved to be punished with the capital punishment," the judge said in a packed courtroom.
The prosecution presented 25 witnesses and 51 supporting documents including a DNA report during the trial which began after police filed chargesheet on February 4 this year.
After the capital punishment was announced, people busted fire crackers in Kankroli town where the incident took place and nearby Rajsamand town.
Manoj Pratap Singh was a vehicle-lifter and a petty criminal before he abducted the girl from the vegetable cart of her parents on January 17 this year. The girl was mentally challenged.
"Manoj, who belongs to UP, used to live in a rented accommodation near the girl's house in Kankroli. The girl's father is a vegetable vendor. Manoj used to buy vegetables from him," said public prosecutor Pradeep Kumar.
On January 17, the girl was with her parents and grandfather at the vegetable cart when Manoj walked to her and offered her chocolate. He tried to take away the girl, but the parents protested.
"He returned on a bike after 10 minutes and abducted the girl around 6.30 pm. The parents and some others tried to chase Manoj, but he disappeared," the lawyer said.
Manoj bought some beer bottles from a liquor shop on the way and took her to an isolated place in Dhondara area and raped her. He then repeatedly hit her head with a stone lying on the road and dumped her body into a pit in Kamal Talai area.
Meanwhile, the parents who knew Manoj informed the police. Several teams launched a search. He was found around 1 am on January 18.
"He had come to the bus stand to get a mobile recharge coupon and leave the town later. After interrogation, he led the police to place where he had dumped the girl's body," said the lawyer.
As no lawyer agreed to represent him, the court had to appoint a lawyer. "There were several evidences against Manoj. The semen swabs lifted from the girl's clothes and private parts matched with Manoj's DNA. Besides, his clothes having stains of girl's blood were also recovered. There were several eye-witnesses who saw him abducting the girl," said the lawyer.
While Manoj broke into tears after coming out of the courtroom on Tuesday, a crowd of nearly 150 people, mostly locals, clapped and congratulated each-other.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Man-gets-death-penalty-for-rape-murder-of-8-year-old/articleshow/23380404.cms?intenttarget=no [accessed
on 02.10.2013]
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Pune Bakery blast main accused Himayat Baig is innocent, says Bhatkal
Krishna Kumar New Delhi, September 5, 2013 | UPDATED 22:03 IST
Mohammed Ahmed Sidibappa, alias Yasin Bhatkal has reportedly told interrogators that Himayat Baig the man who is been accussed of being involved in Pune's German Bakery blast and who has been recently sentenced to death was innocent and that he was not involved in the conspiracy. Bhatkal has claimed that it he was him and Qateel Siddiqui who engineered the blasts and not Baig, Bhatkal's claim has not surprised those who know the reality of how the Maharashtra ATS has been conducting its investigations in sensational cases.
Since the time it was formed the Maharashtra ATS has been known for only one thing botching up its investigations and ending up with egg on its face. Take for instance the July 11, 2006 serial blasts in Mumbai's local trains. The ATS arrested a number of accussed in the case, one of them was Shabbir Ahmed Masiullah alias Batterywala. How the Anti Terrorist Squad conducts its investigations can be gauged from the fact that one month later when a series of bomb explosions rocked Malegaon on September 8, the ATS showed Batterywala to be involved in the Malegaon blast. So according to the ATS Batterywala was involved in the Mumbai serial blasts in trains for which he was arrested and then some how he was involved in executing the Malegaon 2006 blasts.
Incidentally the nine accussed alleged to be involved in the 2006 Malegaon blasts who were arrested by the ATS have been found by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to have no links with the blasts case and the agency has hence not opposed their discharge applications.
This has not been the only blooper, there are much doubts as to whether the ATS has caught the right suspects in the Mumbai serial train blasts too. The ATS arrested 11 accussed in the July 11, train blasts however in 2008 the case took a new turn after the Mumbai Crime Branch busted a module of the Indian Mujahideen. The Crime Branch arrested one Sadiq Shaikh along with his accomplices who told the police that it was the IM that was involved in the 2006 train blasts and not those arrested. The disclosure caused much embarrassment because it was not the defence lawyer but the investigation of another law enforcement agency that expressed doubts about who actually created the 2006 blasts.
While Yasin Bhatkal has absolved Baig now after he has been sentenced, there were doubts as to his role in the blasts even prior to his trial. None other than the DIG of Police Ravindra Kadam (ATS) who was investigating the case publicly said that Baig was not in Pune on the day of the blasts. This when the ATS was all along claiming that he along with Bhatkal had planted the bomb in the German Bakery. A day later however Kadam claimed that he was not aware of Baig's exact role. Interestingly the cell phone records show that Baig was in Aurangabad when the Pune bomb went off. When Baig was sentenced to hang by the trial court, he pleaded before the judge that he was not guilty, " In the German Bakery blast 17 innocent people were killed. Now one more innocent person is being victimised. I am the 18th victim of the blast. To render justice to the victims of the blast it would be inappropriate to punish another innocent person.
Mohammed Ahmed Sidibappa, alias Yasin Bhatkal has reportedly told interrogators that Himayat Baig the man who is been accussed of being involved in Pune's German Bakery blast and who has been recently sentenced to death was innocent and that he was not involved in the conspiracy. Bhatkal has claimed that it he was him and Qateel Siddiqui who engineered the blasts and not Baig, Bhatkal's claim has not surprised those who know the reality of how the Maharashtra ATS has been conducting its investigations in sensational cases.
Since the time it was formed the Maharashtra ATS has been known for only one thing botching up its investigations and ending up with egg on its face. Take for instance the July 11, 2006 serial blasts in Mumbai's local trains. The ATS arrested a number of accussed in the case, one of them was Shabbir Ahmed Masiullah alias Batterywala. How the Anti Terrorist Squad conducts its investigations can be gauged from the fact that one month later when a series of bomb explosions rocked Malegaon on September 8, the ATS showed Batterywala to be involved in the Malegaon blast. So according to the ATS Batterywala was involved in the Mumbai serial blasts in trains for which he was arrested and then some how he was involved in executing the Malegaon 2006 blasts.
Incidentally the nine accussed alleged to be involved in the 2006 Malegaon blasts who were arrested by the ATS have been found by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to have no links with the blasts case and the agency has hence not opposed their discharge applications.
This has not been the only blooper, there are much doubts as to whether the ATS has caught the right suspects in the Mumbai serial train blasts too. The ATS arrested 11 accussed in the July 11, train blasts however in 2008 the case took a new turn after the Mumbai Crime Branch busted a module of the Indian Mujahideen. The Crime Branch arrested one Sadiq Shaikh along with his accomplices who told the police that it was the IM that was involved in the 2006 train blasts and not those arrested. The disclosure caused much embarrassment because it was not the defence lawyer but the investigation of another law enforcement agency that expressed doubts about who actually created the 2006 blasts.
While Yasin Bhatkal has absolved Baig now after he has been sentenced, there were doubts as to his role in the blasts even prior to his trial. None other than the DIG of Police Ravindra Kadam (ATS) who was investigating the case publicly said that Baig was not in Pune on the day of the blasts. This when the ATS was all along claiming that he along with Bhatkal had planted the bomb in the German Bakery. A day later however Kadam claimed that he was not aware of Baig's exact role. Interestingly the cell phone records show that Baig was in Aurangabad when the Pune bomb went off. When Baig was sentenced to hang by the trial court, he pleaded before the judge that he was not guilty, " In the German Bakery blast 17 innocent people were killed. Now one more innocent person is being victimised. I am the 18th victim of the blast. To render justice to the victims of the blast it would be inappropriate to punish another innocent person.
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/pune-bakery-blast-main-accused-himayat-baig-is-innocent-says-yasin-bhatkal/1/305716.html [accessed on 5th September 2013]
Monday, August 12, 2013
Supreme Court stays execution of Maganlal
Published: August 8, 2013 04:05 IST |
Updated: August 8, 2013 15:59 IST
The Supreme Court on Thursdayextended until further orders its stay of
the execution of Maganlal Barela , who was sentenced to death for
beheading his five daughters after an argument with his two wives.
On Wednesday night the Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam passed an
interim order of stay of executionat his residence around 11.30 pm after
senior counsel Colin Gonsalves approached him with a plea to suspend
the execution scheduled for Thursday morning.
Today during the resumedhearing before a bench of CJI and Justice Ms
Ranjana Desai, counsel Colin Gonsalves submitted that the President
didn't communicate the rejection of the mercy petition to the convict
and he did not know when the mercy petition was rejected. He said there
was no transparent and fair procedure in disposal of mercy petition.
The CJI said, " slowly we are creating one more jurisdiction after the
Supreme Court dismisses the criminal appeal and the President rejects
the mercy petition."However the bench directed the present petition
filed by People's Union for Democratic Rights on behalf of the convict
to be listed along with a batch of other petitions to be heard by a
constitution bench which will determine questions relating to delay in
disposal of mercy petitions by the President and connected issues.
Last month, the Sehore District and Sessions Court issued a black
warrant for Mr. Barela’s execution after President Pranab Mukherjee
rejected his clemency petition last month. His plea to commute his
sentence to life imprisonment had been rejected by the High Court and
the Supreme Court. Barela killed his five daughters, aged 1 to 6, with
an axe in the village of Kaneria on June 11, 2010. He tried to hang
himself after the crime, but was unsuccessful.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/supreme-court-stays-execution-of-maganlal/article5001475.ece?homepage=true&ref=relatedNews [accessed 12th August 2013]
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Perarivalan plea on researcher’s visit to prison declined
CHENNAI, August 1, 2013
S.
VIJAY KUMAR
The
death-row convict claims that information is crucial to defend his case
The
plea of A.G. Perarivalan alias Arivu, death row convict in the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case, seeking details of a research scholar’s visit to Vellore
Central Prison in 2011 has been declined by the State government. Though the
convict claimed that the information was crucial to defend his case, the Prison
Department turned down his plea filed under the Right to Information Act
stating that the details sought were not available in jail records.
In
repeated petitions sent to the prison authorities in the last two years,
Perarivalan referred to the visit of Reena Mary George to the prison on April
13, 2011, in connection with her work on death row convicts.
Seeking
copies of the permission letters given to the researcher, he wanted to know on
record whether Ms. George met the three condemned prisoners–Murugan alias
Sriharan, Suthenthiraraja alias Santhan and him (the petitioner).
Confirming
that Ms. George had visited the prison and spent about four hours, the Public
Information Officer replied that there was no record of her interview details
in the prison.
In
his appeal, copies of which were made available to The Hindu, Perarivalan
argued that it was a well known procedure that a written permission was given
to those intending to visit prison for research activities and accused the PIO
of giving false and misleading information.
After
the second appeal was also turned down by the Additional Director-General of
Prisons, who said prisoners could not be given access to prison records as per
Rule 473 of the Tamil Nadu Prison Rules, 1983, Perarivalan sent an appeal to
the State Information Commission praying that his petitions be heard
expeditiously and he be granted personal appearance to present his case.
However,
the State government wrote to Perarivalan in the last week of June this year
stating that it was not feasible to comply with his request. “He also sought
details of mercy petitions processed by the Cabinet and referred to the
Governor. The information cannot be shared with the petitioner under the provisions
of the RTI Act,” an official in the Home Department said.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/perarivalan-plea-on-researchers-visit-to-prison-declined/article4974703.ece?homepage=true [accessed on 1st August 2013]
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Batla House convict gets life term
New Delhi, July 30, 2013
Shahzad Ahmad fined Rs. 95,000, and Rs. 40,000 from the sum will be given to the family of the inspector killed in the encounter
Shahzad Ahmad, convicted for his role in the 2008 Batla House encounter,
was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court here on Wednesday.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 95,000 on him, and Rs. 40,000 from
it will be given to the family of Special Cell Inspector M.C. Sharma,
who was killed in the encounter. S. Qamar, one of the lawyers of
Shahzad, said he would appeal against the verdict in higher courts.
On Thursday, the Court of Additional Sessions Judge Rajender Kumar
Shastri convicted Shahzad, 25, for firing at police officers, causing
the death of Sharma.
The Delhi Police had sought the death penalty for Shahzad, arguing that
his crime constituted the rarest of rare cases and there was “no scope
for [his] rehabilitation and reform.” The court, however, rejected the
prosecution’s plea. “Ruminating on the facts of the case and the
circumstances of the convict, I find mitigating circumstances more than
aggravating ones, and hence the case … is not a ‘rarest of the rare
case,’ which warrants the death penalty upon the convict,” the judge
said.
One of the aggravating circumstances which the court cited includes
attempts by Shahzad to obstruct police officers from doing their job by
attacking them and killing Sharma in the process. Rejecting the police
argument that Shahzad had a history of “heinous crime,” the judge
expressed the hope that there “are chances of his being reformed and
return to the mainstream of society.”
“Admittedly, this convict has not been found guilty till now, of any
offence he has been charged with. An accused is presumed innocent till
he is proven guilty is an oft-cited tenet of law. God willing, the
convict would have learnt values of civilised society,” the judge added.
One of the several mitigating circumstances was that “the convict is a
young boy, aged 24-25 years, stated to be a student.” Another factor was
that the incident at Flat No. 108, L-18, Batla House, was “not
premeditated and occurred in the spur of the moment.”
The encounter took place on September 19, 2008 between officers of the
Special Cell of the Delhi Police and suspected terrorists, resulting in
the death of Sharma and two alleged terrorists. Shahzad was said to have
fired at the police party while fleeing.
Source : http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Shahzad-Ahmed-gets-life-term-in-Batla-House-encounter-case/Article1-1100637.aspx
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Larger bench of SC to hear pleas of death row convicts
Press Trust of India | Posted on Jul 26, 2013 at 06:26pm IST
New Delhi: A larger bench of the
Supreme Court will hear from October 22 a batch of petitions seeking
commutation of their death sentence into life imprisonment on account of
delay in carrying out the execution following the dismissal of their
mercy petitions by the President.
"Death sentence matters will be taken up immediately after the Dussehra holidays from October 22," a bench, comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said.
Before taking over as the CJI, Justice Sathasivam had said that there was a need for "authoritative pronouncements" by a larger bench or a Constitution Bench on issues like mercy pleas to avoid conflicting views by smaller benches.
The hearing by a larger bench assumes significance as on April 12, a two-judge bench had held that long delay in disposing off mercy pleas by the President or the Governor of persons convicted under anti-terror laws or similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence. The ruling was pronounced while rejecting the plea of Khalistani terrorist and death row convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar.
When the April 12 judgement was delivered, there were over 20 convicts facing execution. Later on, an apex court bench had granted relief to a condemned prisoner M N Das who had sought conversion of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea.
On February 18 this year, a bench headed by Justice Sathasivam, which in an urgent hearing had stayed the execution of death sentence of sandalwood smuggler Veerapan's associates in a Karnataka jail, had said it would wait for the Bhullar's case judgement before dealing with other identical petitions.
It had stayed the execution of death sentence of Veerappan's elder brother Gnanaprakash and his aides Simon, Meesekar Madaiah and Bilavendran.
The outcome of the hearing before a larger bench will also have its bearing on three persons Murgan, Santhan and Perarivalan who are awaiting execution after conviction under TADA in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. A bench headed by Justice Sathasivam had on April 6 stayed the execution of eight more death row prisoners, convicted in different murder cases, whose clemency pleas were rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The eight convicts facing death row in different cases are Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sonia and her
husband Sanjeev, Sundar Singh and Jafar Ali. The apex court had passed the orders on the plea of either the convicts or civil rights group and public spirited persons who had filed the petitions on behalf of the death row persons.
In its petition, Peoples Union of Democratic Rights (PUDR) had challenged the rejection of the mercy pleas of the eight convicts contending there has been delay in carrying out their execution even after it was confirmed by the apex court.
While Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh and Jafar Ali are lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh, former Haryana MLA Ralu
Ram Punia's daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjeev are jailed in Haryana. Praveen is in a Karnataka jail and Sundar Singh is
an inmate in a prison in Uttaranchal. Sonia and Sanjeev were awarded death penalty for killing eight members of her family, including her parents and three children of her brother, in 2001.
Gurmeet Singh was convicted for killing 13 of his family members in 1986. Jafar Ali murdered his wife and five daughters. Suresh and Ramji killed five of their relatives.
Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/larger-bench-of-sc-to-hear-pleas-of-death-row-convicts/409628-3.html
"Death sentence matters will be taken up immediately after the Dussehra holidays from October 22," a bench, comprising Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said.
Before taking over as the CJI, Justice Sathasivam had said that there was a need for "authoritative pronouncements" by a larger bench or a Constitution Bench on issues like mercy pleas to avoid conflicting views by smaller benches.
The hearing by a larger bench assumes significance as on April 12, a two-judge bench had held that long delay in disposing off mercy pleas by the President or the Governor of persons convicted under anti-terror laws or similar statutes cannot be a ground for commutation of death sentence. The ruling was pronounced while rejecting the plea of Khalistani terrorist and death row convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar.
When the April 12 judgement was delivered, there were over 20 convicts facing execution. Later on, an apex court bench had granted relief to a condemned prisoner M N Das who had sought conversion of his death sentence to life imprisonment on the ground of delay in deciding his mercy plea.
On February 18 this year, a bench headed by Justice Sathasivam, which in an urgent hearing had stayed the execution of death sentence of sandalwood smuggler Veerapan's associates in a Karnataka jail, had said it would wait for the Bhullar's case judgement before dealing with other identical petitions.
It had stayed the execution of death sentence of Veerappan's elder brother Gnanaprakash and his aides Simon, Meesekar Madaiah and Bilavendran.
The outcome of the hearing before a larger bench will also have its bearing on three persons Murgan, Santhan and Perarivalan who are awaiting execution after conviction under TADA in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. A bench headed by Justice Sathasivam had on April 6 stayed the execution of eight more death row prisoners, convicted in different murder cases, whose clemency pleas were rejected by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The eight convicts facing death row in different cases are Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Sonia and her
husband Sanjeev, Sundar Singh and Jafar Ali. The apex court had passed the orders on the plea of either the convicts or civil rights group and public spirited persons who had filed the petitions on behalf of the death row persons.
In its petition, Peoples Union of Democratic Rights (PUDR) had challenged the rejection of the mercy pleas of the eight convicts contending there has been delay in carrying out their execution even after it was confirmed by the apex court.
While Suresh, Ramji, Gurmeet Singh and Jafar Ali are lodged in prisons in Uttar Pradesh, former Haryana MLA Ralu
Ram Punia's daughter Sonia and her husband Sanjeev are jailed in Haryana. Praveen is in a Karnataka jail and Sundar Singh is
an inmate in a prison in Uttaranchal. Sonia and Sanjeev were awarded death penalty for killing eight members of her family, including her parents and three children of her brother, in 2001.
Gurmeet Singh was convicted for killing 13 of his family members in 1986. Jafar Ali murdered his wife and five daughters. Suresh and Ramji killed five of their relatives.
Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/larger-bench-of-sc-to-hear-pleas-of-death-row-convicts/409628-3.html
Justice delivered in 8 days; court awards death sentence to man for rape, murder
Press Trust of India | Updated Jul 23, 2013 at 03:48pm IST
In a speedy trial, a 26-year-old man was
sentenced to death by a local court for raping and killing a
six-year-old girl in Datia in April this year.
District and Sessions Judge Rajiv Sharma, while awarding the death penalty on Monday, observed that people like Kamlesh Kushwaha (the accused) are "cancerous" to the society and hence its necessary to eliminate them in the same manner just as doctors remove cancer tumours surgically for saving people's lives.
The hearing in the case began on July 15 and it was completed in only eight days, according to public prosecutor Rajendra Tiwari. On April 18, Kushwaha, a resident of Maheba village raped and murdered the girl belonging to Dongarpur village.
Kamlesh, who was living in Dongarpur with a relative took the girl to a farm on some pretext and committed the crime. Postmortem reports had confirmed rape and also 21 injuries were found on the girl's body following which the accused was arrested.
Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/justice-delivered-in-8-days-court-awards-death-sentence-to-man-for-rape-murder/408822-3-236.html
District and Sessions Judge Rajiv Sharma, while awarding the death penalty on Monday, observed that people like Kamlesh Kushwaha (the accused) are "cancerous" to the society and hence its necessary to eliminate them in the same manner just as doctors remove cancer tumours surgically for saving people's lives.
The hearing in the case began on July 15 and it was completed in only eight days, according to public prosecutor Rajendra Tiwari. On April 18, Kushwaha, a resident of Maheba village raped and murdered the girl belonging to Dongarpur village.
Kamlesh, who was living in Dongarpur with a relative took the girl to a farm on some pretext and committed the crime. Postmortem reports had confirmed rape and also 21 injuries were found on the girl's body following which the accused was arrested.
Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/justice-delivered-in-8-days-court-awards-death-sentence-to-man-for-rape-murder/408822-3-236.html
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
SHIVANI CASE: HC UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE TO RAJESH
Wednesday, 17 July 2013 PNS Indore Bhopal
The MP High Court on Tuesday upheld the order of a local court which awarded death sentence to Rajesh Singh Sengar, uncle of seven-year-old Baby Shivani who was sexually abused and killed her later by the accused last year.
Shivani was sexually abused and murdered in September last year. Her father Prem Singh Sengar had given her to his cousin Rajesh in the hope that she would have a better future.A division bench comprising Justice Shantanu Kemkar and Justice MC Garg of the MP High Court passed the judgement. A local fast track court on March 12 this year had awarded capital punishment to Rajesh Singh Sengar, 41, for rape, unnatural sex and murder of seven-year-old niece Shivani, besides imposing a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. The court also awarded life imprisonment to his wife Baby Bai along with a fine of Rs 4,000.
The fast track court of seventh additional sessions judge Savita Dubey delivered the judgement in the case after just eight hearings during which a total of 20 witnesses were produced, including 12 neighbours of the victim. The accused Sengar had challenged the verdict of lower fast track court in the High Court.
Taking cognizance of his petition, the High Court upheld the verdict of the fast track court stating that the accused did not deserve a lesser punishment than what had been awarded to him by the fast track court. Meanwhile, the accused was contemplating to move the higher court. The accused Rajesh Singh Sengar, who is uncle of Shivani, subjected the girl to inhuman and unnatural sexual torture for a long time. The incident had elicited sharp protest from the city residents who took to streets in protest against the brutal incident. Following a mass protest of the city people, the police had referred Shivani murder case to a fast track court for early justice to the family of the deceased.
Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhopal/shivani-case-hc-upholds-death-sentence-to-rajesh.html
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
HC acquits 7 men awarded death penalty in honour killing case
PTI | Jul 13, 2013, 09.53PM IST 
ALLAHABAD: Due to lack of evidence, the Allahabad high court has let off seven persons, who were awarded death sentence by a lower court in connection with an alleged honour killing case of Badaun district in Uttar Pradesh.
A division bench comprising Justice Amar Saran and Justice Pankaj Naqvi on Friday ordered "the release of Natthu, Rakesh, Mahavir, Viresh, Jai Prakash, Pappu and Gulab Singh" holding that they "stand acquitted of charges they had been found guilty of".
The appellants had challenged July 30, 2012 order of additional sessions judge, Badaun.
They were awarded death sentence for allegedly burning alive Deen Dayal and Anita in a village under Gunnaur police station of the district on the intervening night of May 22-23, 2006.
Anita was the daughter of one of the appellants, Natthu.
The girl's affair with Deen Dayal was said to have been bitterly opposed by her family.
However, during the trial, Natthu denied his involvement in the incident and claimed that the remaining six accused had "resorted to this abhorrent crime to grab his property".
The high court struck down the conviction of all the seven accused observing that the trial court had convicted them "on the strength of the statement" given by Natthu, which was "not a substantive piece of evidence which could have nailed the other set of accused persons".
"The trial court was swayed by the fact Natthu in his statement ... had admitted his presence at the scene of occurrence," the court noted, adding "this approach was absolutely de hors the law.
The prosecution had failed to prove the case, in the mode and manner as alleged by them beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source : http://m.timesofindia.com/city/lucknow/HC-acquits-7-men-awarded-death-penalty-in-honour-killing-case/articleshow/21060034.cms
ALLAHABAD: Due to lack of evidence, the Allahabad high court has let off seven persons, who were awarded death sentence by a lower court in connection with an alleged honour killing case of Badaun district in Uttar Pradesh.
A division bench comprising Justice Amar Saran and Justice Pankaj Naqvi on Friday ordered "the release of Natthu, Rakesh, Mahavir, Viresh, Jai Prakash, Pappu and Gulab Singh" holding that they "stand acquitted of charges they had been found guilty of".
The appellants had challenged July 30, 2012 order of additional sessions judge, Badaun.
They were awarded death sentence for allegedly burning alive Deen Dayal and Anita in a village under Gunnaur police station of the district on the intervening night of May 22-23, 2006.
Anita was the daughter of one of the appellants, Natthu.
The girl's affair with Deen Dayal was said to have been bitterly opposed by her family.
However, during the trial, Natthu denied his involvement in the incident and claimed that the remaining six accused had "resorted to this abhorrent crime to grab his property".
The high court struck down the conviction of all the seven accused observing that the trial court had convicted them "on the strength of the statement" given by Natthu, which was "not a substantive piece of evidence which could have nailed the other set of accused persons".
"The trial court was swayed by the fact Natthu in his statement ... had admitted his presence at the scene of occurrence," the court noted, adding "this approach was absolutely de hors the law.
The prosecution had failed to prove the case, in the mode and manner as alleged by them beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source : http://m.timesofindia.com/city/lucknow/HC-acquits-7-men-awarded-death-penalty-in-honour-killing-case/articleshow/21060034.cms
Monday, July 8, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Baig files appeal in HC against death sentence - Pune sessions court had handed down five-time death sentence to the Indian Mujahideen operative from Beed two months ago
Vijay Chavan
Posted On Friday, June 21, 2013 at 08:06:04 AM
Posted On Friday, June 21, 2013 at 08:06:04 AM
Two months after being awarded a five-time death sentence, Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative from Beed, Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig (32), has filed an appeal in the Bombay High Court (HC) against his conviction by the Pune sessions court.
Considering it as the rarest or rare crime, the court of additional sessions judge N P Dhote had awarded the death sentence to Baig on April 18 for playing a major role in the blast at the German Bakery blast on the busy North Main Road in Koregaon Park.
The blast, that had ripped through the popular eatery on February 13, 2010, had killed 17 people and injured over 60 others. Baig filed the appeal through his lawyers, advocates A Rehman and Kainat Shaikh.
Shaikh confirmed that they have filed the appeal, adding, “We are waiting for the HC to admit the appeal on the next date, which is yet to be confirmed. We are hopeful that the judicial procedure will be completed as soon as possible to give some relief to the convict with reduction in the sentence awarded to him.” Shaikh said, “Baig is yet to receive notice from the HC since the state government has filed an application of confirmation of his death penalty.
As per rules, this is mandatory.” On being asked about the grounds on which the appeal has been filed, Shaikh said it would be too soon now to reveal all the details that they are going to put before the court during the appeal hearing.
The court had awarded the capital punishment to Baig under sections 302 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 16(A) of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and section 3 of Explosive Substances Act.
Baig, the lone arrested accused, was found guilty of terrorist activities such as planting the bomb and hatching a conspiracy against the nation. The court had accepted the prosecution’s contention that it was a “carefully planned and executed attack, calculated to terrorise the public in general by causing extensive damage to life and property.
Its primary objective was to undermine and reduce faith of the common citizen in the elected government and destabilise the system of law”.
Main culprits still at large.
The ATS has named six other accused —Ahmad Siddibappa Zarar alias Yasin Bhatkal, Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri alias Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Ismail Shahbandri alias Iqbal Bhatkal, Mohsin Choudhary, Fayyaz Kagzi alias Zulfikar Fayyaz Ahmad and Sayyad Zabiuddin Sayyad Zakiuddin Ansari alias Zabi. Ansari was recently arrested in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.
Source : http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/2013062120130621080610324333dd325/Baig-files-appeal-in-HC-against-death-sentence.html?pageno=1
Two sentenced to death for rape and murder
NAGPUR: Seven years after a 19-year-old girl from Kalmeshwar was
raped and murdered in a gruesome manner, the court on Friday sentenced
the perpetrators — two hardened criminals — to the gallows. Rakesh
Kamble (25), a resident of Gaurakshan slums in Wardha, and Amarsing
Thakur (27), from Bajrang Nagar in city, were convicted for kidnapping,
murder, and rape of Kanchan Meshram, a resident of Lonara slums in
Kalmeshwar on December 18, 2005.
These two join seven others in the 'death penalty' club of Nagpur court over the last five years.
Looking at the past criminal record of the accused duo, including fleeing from police custody, the third district and sessions judge Vibha Ingle had no hesitation in putting the dastardly act under "rarest of rare" category. "They be hanged by neck till dead," the court mentioned while reading out an operative order in the packed courtroom.
These two join seven others in the 'death penalty' club of Nagpur court over the last five years.
Looking at the past criminal record of the accused duo, including fleeing from police custody, the third district and sessions judge Vibha Ingle had no hesitation in putting the dastardly act under "rarest of rare" category. "They be hanged by neck till dead," the court mentioned while reading out an operative order in the packed courtroom.
Apart from the capital punishment, the duo was awarded lifer for gang
rape, 20 years rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping for murder and
another 10 years for criminal intimidation and trespassing into house at
night. They were also fined Rs 22,000 on various counts. All the jail
terms will run concurrently, the court ordered.
However, the duo was acquitted of charges under the Arms Act and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Citing testimony of 19 witnesses, including the girl's parents, brother and other villagers, assistant public prosecutor (APP) Kalpana Pande strongly advocated the maximum punishment, contending that the accused were serial offenders and showed no signs of reformation.
Security was tight inside and outside the courtroom, considering the fact that the accused duo had a history of fleeing from custody and had created trouble every time they were brought for a hearing. Even Sadar PI Rajratan Bansod was personally present. There was no remorse on the faces of the convicts when the verdict was announced and they even threatened media persons with dire consequences.
The night of horror
Pande said the history-sheeter duo were friends with a cousin of the deceased and used to tease her. A few days before the incident, Kanchan had even rapped Rakesh for indecent behaviour and thrown a slipper at him. An enraged Rakesh then decided to teach her a lesson. He barged into the girl's small hut with Amarsing at about 3am, when she was sleeping with her parents and brother. Both were armed with knives and a country-made revolver.
Sensing trouble, Kanchan's mother signalled her to escape. She ran away from home and took shelter under the bed in her uncle's house. However, the goons entered by breaking open the front door and dragged her out. Her parents and other villagers tried their best to stop them, but the goons brandished their weapons to keep them at bay while taking her away.
Next morning, Kanchan's naked body was found at a nearby farm with 14 injuries, including stab marks and scratches on her private parts. Her blood stained clothes were lying all over the farm and blood was found splattered at many places, providing ample testimony of the spine chilling torment she underwent. The post mortem report confirmed her rape and murder.
The accused had fled to an unknown place after committing the crime. After a complaint was lodged at Kalmeshwar police, Rakesh was arrested at Khamgaon in Buldhana on June 6, 2006, six months after the incident. However, it took over five years for the police to nab the other accused Amarsing on May 29, 2005. In fact, he was arrested by Gwalior police for some other offence and was brought to the city for this case.
Source : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-29/nagpur/40270825_1_duo-nagpur-court-slums
However, the duo was acquitted of charges under the Arms Act and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Citing testimony of 19 witnesses, including the girl's parents, brother and other villagers, assistant public prosecutor (APP) Kalpana Pande strongly advocated the maximum punishment, contending that the accused were serial offenders and showed no signs of reformation.
Security was tight inside and outside the courtroom, considering the fact that the accused duo had a history of fleeing from custody and had created trouble every time they were brought for a hearing. Even Sadar PI Rajratan Bansod was personally present. There was no remorse on the faces of the convicts when the verdict was announced and they even threatened media persons with dire consequences.
The night of horror
Pande said the history-sheeter duo were friends with a cousin of the deceased and used to tease her. A few days before the incident, Kanchan had even rapped Rakesh for indecent behaviour and thrown a slipper at him. An enraged Rakesh then decided to teach her a lesson. He barged into the girl's small hut with Amarsing at about 3am, when she was sleeping with her parents and brother. Both were armed with knives and a country-made revolver.
Sensing trouble, Kanchan's mother signalled her to escape. She ran away from home and took shelter under the bed in her uncle's house. However, the goons entered by breaking open the front door and dragged her out. Her parents and other villagers tried their best to stop them, but the goons brandished their weapons to keep them at bay while taking her away.
Next morning, Kanchan's naked body was found at a nearby farm with 14 injuries, including stab marks and scratches on her private parts. Her blood stained clothes were lying all over the farm and blood was found splattered at many places, providing ample testimony of the spine chilling torment she underwent. The post mortem report confirmed her rape and murder.
The accused had fled to an unknown place after committing the crime. After a complaint was lodged at Kalmeshwar police, Rakesh was arrested at Khamgaon in Buldhana on June 6, 2006, six months after the incident. However, it took over five years for the police to nab the other accused Amarsing on May 29, 2005. In fact, he was arrested by Gwalior police for some other offence and was brought to the city for this case.
Source : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-06-29/nagpur/40270825_1_duo-nagpur-court-slums
Thane: Court awards death penalty to man who raped, murdered 5-year-old girl
Press Trust of India | Updated Jun 07, 2013 at 05:36pm IST
Thane: In a speedy trial, a 53-year-old man was on Friday
sentenced to death by a court here for raping and murdering a
five-year-old girl in January 2013. Thane Additional Sessions Judge PH
Mali while pronouncing the verdict observed that the case fell under the
"rarest of rare" category as the girl had been done to death in the
most cruel manner and a young life was snuffed out.
Prosecutor Sangeeta Phad had sought death penalty for accused Dattu Ambo Rokade, from Koprigaon in Vashi, stating that such an inhuman act deserved nothing less than capital punishment. Also, circumstantial evidence and statement of the wife and son of Rokade, that he was capable of committing such a heinous act, nailed him.
The crime took place on January 22 this year when the minor girl was playing in the ground near her house while her elder brother and sister were watching TV. Her parents had gone to work, investigating officer in the case API Pushpa Chavan-Dighe told the court.
Rokade lured the girl to his house and then sexually assaulted her, Dighe said. When the parents of the victim were unable to trace her, they lodged a police complaint. The following day, during the early hours, they found their dead daughter dumped at their house entrance in a disrobed state.
The accused, after raping the girl, had strangulated her to death and packed her in a gunny bag. He hid the body in a garbage bin before leaving her in front of her house, the court was told.
The accused was charged under sections 302, 376, 377, 201 and 367 of IPC and also under section 4 and 5 of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A total of 27 witnesses were examined in the case. During the trial, the court was told by locals that they had seen a old man carry a gunny bag into the building compound that day.
The accused was staying near the house of the victim and took care of his widowed daughter's kids. He was reportedly driven out of Murbad in Thane, where he attempted rape on a school teacher.
This is the second capital punishment awarded by a Thane court in less than a month. On May 16, an industrial worker Shekar Gupta, (22) who was found guilty of sexually assaulting and killing an eight-year-old, was given death by Additional Sessions Judge AA Sayeed.
Source : http://ibnlive.in.com/news/thane-court-awards-death-penalty-to-man-who-raped-murdered-5yearold-girl/397022-3-237.html
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Why the death penalty must end
Lawmakers are eager to appear resolute in the fight against crime,
but seem to forget that certainty of punishment, not severity, is the
real deterrent
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,” said Mahatma Gandhi.
The
death penalty is unjust and inhuman. Its continued use is a stain on a
society built on humanitarian values, and it should be abolished
immediately.
Many think that there could be nothing
wrong with the death penalty as the Indian Constitution allows for
capital punishment, which means that the founding fathers of this
country must have also fully approved of it. In reality, several members
of the Constituent Assembly were firmly opposed to the death penalty.
The
architect of the Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar, admitted in the
Constituent Assembly that people may not follow non-violence in practice
but “they certainly adhere to the principle of non-violence as a moral
mandate which they ought to observe as far as they possibly can.” With
this in mind, he said, “the proper thing for this country to do is to
abolish the death sentence altogether.”
On June 3,
1949, Professor Shibbanlal Saxena, a freedom fighter who had been on
death row for his involvement in the Quit India Movement, spoke in the
Constituent Assembly of how he had seen innocent people being hanged for
murder during his days in prison. Proposing the abolition of the death
penalty, he said that the avenue of appealing to the Supreme Court “will
be open to people who are wealthy, who can move heaven and earth, but
the common people who have no money and who are poor will not be able to
avail themselves” of it.
Miscarriage of justice is,
in fact, one of the biggest concerns about the death penalty. Is it
possible that someone could be wrongly hanged in 21st century India? The
answer, unfortunately, is yes. Studies conducted by Amnesty
International and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties have shown that
the process of deciding who should be on death row is arbitrary and
biased. The Supreme Court has itself admitted on several occasions that
there is confusion and contradiction in the application of the death
penalty.
Instances of innocence
Last year, 14
eminent retired judges wrote to the President, pointing out that the
Supreme Court had erroneously given the death penalty to 15 people since
1996, of whom two were hanged. The judges called this “the gravest
known miscarriage of justice in the history of crime and punishment in
independent India.”
Some argue that the death penalty
is the only way to deter heinous crime, especially violence against
women and children. But a comprehensive study done last year in the
United States found that there is no credible evidence that the death
penalty has any deterrent effect on crime.
The
“Innocence Project” in the United States [a national litigation and
public policy organisation dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted
individuals through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice
system] has found, on the other hand, several cases where innocent
people were given the death sentence. One such case is that of Cameron
Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 for the deaths of his three
young daughters. In 2009, reinvestigation of the case raised serious
doubts in the appreciation of forensic evidence in the case and the
judge concluded that Willingham was wrongfully convicted. Another case
is that of Carlos DeLuna who was executed in 1989 for the murder of a
young woman some years before. In 2004, a study by Columbia Law School
students brought to light the wrongful conviction of Carlos DeLuna,
which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity of the actual
perpetrator of the murder. Lawmakers in India find it convenient to hold
up the death penalty as a symbol of their resolve to tackle crime, and
choose to ignore more difficult but more effective solutions like social
education and police or judicial reform. The certainty of punishment,
not severity, is the real deterrent.
Rajiv Gandhi case
The
death penalty is little more than judicially sanctioned murder. Justice
K.T. Thomas, who headed the three member bench in the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case, has said that executing Perarivalan, Murugan and
Santhan, convicted and sentenced to death in the case, would amount to
punishing them twice for the same offence, as they had already spent 22
years in jail, the equivalent of life imprisonment.
In
recent months, the Government of India has shown an alarming tendency
to implement the death penalty. It is a fallacy to think that one
killing can be avenged with another. For, capital punishment is merely
revenge masquerading as justice. When the government is trying to create
a just society where there is less violence and murder, it cannot be
allowed to commit the same crime against its citizens in the name of
justice.
The DMK president, Kalaignar Karunanidhi,
reiterated the party’s stand last month when he called upon the
Government of India to commute the death sentences of the 16 men,
including seven from Tamil Nadu, who are on death row. The DMK president
had made similar pleas to the Centre in August 2011 and October 2006.
This has been the party’s consistent position against this inhumane
practice.
Rest of the world
The world is
moving away from using the death penalty. The European Union has made
“abolition of death penalty” a prerequisite for membership. The 65th
United Nations General Assembly voted in December 2010, for the third
time, in favour of abolishing the death penalty and called for a global
moratorium on executions. Amnesty International reports that 140
countries — more than two-thirds of the world — do not use the death
penalty any more. India needs to recognise this global trend, and act in
step with it.
(Kanimozhi is a Member of Parliament.)
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/why-the-death-penalty-must-end/article4782064.ece#.Ua7rUBUxTlE.gmail [accessed on 5th June 2013]
Monday, June 3, 2013
The curious case of Devendar Pal Singh Bhullar
On 12.04.2013 the Supreme Court of
India rejected the Petition filed by Devendar Pal Singh Bhullar for commutation
of his sentence from death to life imprisonment on the basis of long delay in
deciding his mercy petition which has been pending before the President of
India since 2002.
The Supreme Court also held that the
principle laid down regarding the delay and commutation of sentence in the case
of Triveniben by the Supreme Court was not applicable to cases under TADA or
similar statutes. Thus the Supreme Court of India has created a new category of
persons who cannot be given the benefit of delay in deciding their mercy
petitions. The reasoning is not clear apart from the fact that it is a
terrorist act and the person has been tried under special law.
In the case of Triveniben which was
decided by the constitutional bench of the Supreme Court, it had held that ‘Undue long delay in
execution of the sentence of death will entitle the condemned person to
approach this Court under Article 32 but , this Court will only examine the nature of delay caused and
circumstances ensued after sentence was finally confirmed by the judicial
process and will have no jurisdiction to re-open the conclusion reached by the
Court while finally maintaining the sentence of death. This Court, however, may
consider the question of inordinate delay in the light of all circumstances of
the case to decide whether the execution of sentence should be carried out or
should be altered into Imprisonment for life.’
Thus the judgement in the case
of Bhullar which has been decided by a 2 judge bench of the Supreme Court is
contrary to the law laid down by the Constitutional bench in the case of
Triveniben.
Though the facts of the case
were not open for discussion at the stage of deciding the latest petition filed
by Bhullar, it was important that various courts who had decided the case at
various stages and the President of India who considered the mercy petition
ought to have looked in the merits of the case.
When the Special Leave Petition
of Bhullar was decided by the Supreme Court in 2002 Justice M.B. Shah who was
one of the judges of a 3 judge bench which decided the case held that Bhullar
should be acquitted. Yet the other 2 judges held that Bhullar should be given
the death sentence. During the hearing of the review petition also Justice Shah
held that death sentence should not be awarded and the other 2 judges again
held that Bhullar should be sentenced to death. There should be a unanimous
decision on the issue of sentence at least when one of the judges has held that
Bhullar should have been acquitted.
Apart from a confession to a
police officer, there is no evidence against Bhullar in this case. The incident
occurred in 1993, and Bhullar was arrested from Airport after he was deported
from Germany in 1995. Within a few hours of his arrest, it is alleged that he agreed
to give a confessional statement. It is this very confessional statement which
Justice Shah termed unreliable. Justice Shah, in his dissenting judgement observes
that none of the facts laid down in the confessional statement have been
corroborated by the testimony of any witnesses or any independent evidence. He
also observes that Bhullar’s father and his father-in-law were arrested and
tortured in police custody, and that this could have compelled Bhullar to make
the confession.
Since the court had found the confessional
statement of Bhullar unreliable and insufficient to convict his co-accused,
though TADA permitted the use of his confessional statement even against his
co-accused, it ought not to have convicted Bhullar solely on the basis of his
uncorroborated, retracted and forced confessional statement.
Confessional statements to police officers are
inadmissible under Indian law and in this case it was admissible because the
accused was charged with the draconian Terrorist And Disruptive Activities
(Prvention), Act, which made confessions to police officers admissible.
It is a well known and documented
fact that the police extract confessions on the basis of threats and inducements,
and the courts have rightly held that confessional statements should be
corroborated by other independent evidence.
Considering the overall circumstances, the evidence against him, and the mental condition of Bhullar, it is in the interest of justice that Bhullar’s death sentence is commuted to life imprisonment.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Teen's rapist gets death penalty
The prosecution case was that Mustafa, with whom the 16-year-old girl
had close family acquaintance, took her in a car, raped and murdered
her. He later dumped her body at Budhni ghat about 45km from Bhopal.
A search was launched by police after the girl's family had filed a missing complaint.
On September 29, Budhni police found the body and buried it as an 'unidentified' one. Later, when Bhopal got leads during interrogation of Mustafa, they exhumed the body and brought it to Bhopal.
Mustafa and his alleged accomplice Aziz were charged with rape, murder and destroying evidence.
After hearing the case, court of additional session judge Saeeda Bano Rahman held Mustafa guilty on all the charges and awarded death penalty for him. However, Aziz was acquitted for lack of evidence.
When the judge asked whether he had any reason to cite why he should not be given capital punishment, Mustafa said that he was the sole breadwinner of his family. His counsel argued that his offence did not fall under the 'rarest of rare' category of crimes, for a death sentence.
However, the public prosecutor argued for capital punishment on the ground that the crime was of a 'cruel' nature.
After hearing the argument, the judge stated she was unable to find any 'justifying circumstances' not to award death penalty for the accused. She stated that an exemplary punishment is required to put a check on such cases and also to ensure that fear of law remains among criminals in society.
It may be recalled that tension had gripped the Mansarovar complex area in Bhopal after people set on fire shops and damaged vehicles after the incident on September 29. The accused worked in a motor-repairing shop at the locality.
A search was launched by police after the girl's family had filed a missing complaint.
On September 29, Budhni police found the body and buried it as an 'unidentified' one. Later, when Bhopal got leads during interrogation of Mustafa, they exhumed the body and brought it to Bhopal.
Mustafa and his alleged accomplice Aziz were charged with rape, murder and destroying evidence.
After hearing the case, court of additional session judge Saeeda Bano Rahman held Mustafa guilty on all the charges and awarded death penalty for him. However, Aziz was acquitted for lack of evidence.
When the judge asked whether he had any reason to cite why he should not be given capital punishment, Mustafa said that he was the sole breadwinner of his family. His counsel argued that his offence did not fall under the 'rarest of rare' category of crimes, for a death sentence.
However, the public prosecutor argued for capital punishment on the ground that the crime was of a 'cruel' nature.
After hearing the argument, the judge stated she was unable to find any 'justifying circumstances' not to award death penalty for the accused. She stated that an exemplary punishment is required to put a check on such cases and also to ensure that fear of law remains among criminals in society.
It may be recalled that tension had gripped the Mansarovar complex area in Bhopal after people set on fire shops and damaged vehicles after the incident on September 29. The accused worked in a motor-repairing shop at the locality.
Source : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-18/bhopal/39353320_1_mustafa-death-penalty-punishment
Man gets death penalty for raping, killing minor girl
A 22-year-old man was today sentenced to death by a local court for raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl. May 16, 2013 Thane
According to the prosecution, Gupta had abducted the school girl, raped her and murdered her to destroy evidence in December 2009.
The accused, who was married and has two children, worked as a contract labour with a company in Thane city.
The victim's father, a resident of Lokmanya Nagar, told the court that on December 24, 2009, when he returned home in the evening from work, he was told that his daughter, a Class II student at Saint Ulai School, had not returned till then.
When he went out in search of her, Gupta met him on the way and told him that he had met the girl and gave her chocolate and biscuits.
The parents lodged a missing complaint with police and the next day her body was found under a hillock.
Additional Public Prosecutor Hemlata Deshmukh said this was a rarest of the rare case which deserved nothing less than death sentence.
The court, relying on the witnesses from the vicinity and circumstantial evidence, held that the accused was guilty of the charges levelled against him and sentenced him to death.
Source : http://www.mid-day.com/news/2013/may/160513-man-gets-death-penalty-for-raping-killing-minor-girl-crime.htm
Thursday, May 16, 2013
High Court admits Mane plea against death penalty
Santosh Mane, the state transport bus driver who was awarded death
penalty in a road rage case, has moved the Bombay High Court challenging
the sessions court verdict. A plea filed by lawyer Jaideep Mane on the
convict’s behalf was admitted by the high court on May 9.
A bench of Justice V K Tahilramani and Justice P D Kode will hear the case.
“The hearings in the high court will start in July. We were not happy with the outcome of the trial in the sessions court. The accused was not even given an opportunity to present his side as per the provision before he was awarded the death penalty. We are hoping that the high court will take a lenient view on account of the mental unsoundness of the accused,” said advocate Jaideep Mane.
On April 8, Mane was awarded the death sentence by an additional sessions judge who declared his crime as rarest of the rare. He was convicted under Sections 381, 302, 307, 324 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On January 25 last year, Mane hijacked an ST bus from Swargate depot and went on a rampage, killing nine people and injuring 37 besides damaging over 25 vehicles.
During the course of trial while the prosecution maintained that Mane was in a complete sound state of mind when he committed the crime, the defence had claimed that Mane was suffering from a psychiatric disorder when he committed the act and should be given advantage under Section 84 of the IPC. The defence had also produced a Solapur-based psychiatrist Dr Dilip Burte before the court who claimed to have treated Mane for ‘mania’ for a period of over one year.
However, the court held that Mane visited Burte’s clinic just once and that Burte falsified the records to help the defence. The court had also served a notice on Burte for misleading the court.
Burte’s lawyer recently submitted in the court that whatever he said and the documents he submitted were true and bore his signatures.
Source : http://m.indianexpress.com/news/high-court-admits-mane-plea-against-death-penalty/1115038/
A bench of Justice V K Tahilramani and Justice P D Kode will hear the case.
“The hearings in the high court will start in July. We were not happy with the outcome of the trial in the sessions court. The accused was not even given an opportunity to present his side as per the provision before he was awarded the death penalty. We are hoping that the high court will take a lenient view on account of the mental unsoundness of the accused,” said advocate Jaideep Mane.
On April 8, Mane was awarded the death sentence by an additional sessions judge who declared his crime as rarest of the rare. He was convicted under Sections 381, 302, 307, 324 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On January 25 last year, Mane hijacked an ST bus from Swargate depot and went on a rampage, killing nine people and injuring 37 besides damaging over 25 vehicles.
During the course of trial while the prosecution maintained that Mane was in a complete sound state of mind when he committed the crime, the defence had claimed that Mane was suffering from a psychiatric disorder when he committed the act and should be given advantage under Section 84 of the IPC. The defence had also produced a Solapur-based psychiatrist Dr Dilip Burte before the court who claimed to have treated Mane for ‘mania’ for a period of over one year.
However, the court held that Mane visited Burte’s clinic just once and that Burte falsified the records to help the defence. The court had also served a notice on Burte for misleading the court.
Burte’s lawyer recently submitted in the court that whatever he said and the documents he submitted were true and bore his signatures.
Source : http://m.indianexpress.com/news/high-court-admits-mane-plea-against-death-penalty/1115038/
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