How A Murder Convict's "Reformative" Poems Saved Him From Death Sentence

All India | ANI | Updated: March 02, 2019 14:56 IST

The poems show that the convict has realised his mistake and has reformed: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court converted death penalty of a murder convict into life imprisonment after taking note of the poems he wrote while serving his term in jail. The poems show that the convict has realised his mistake and has reformed, the court observed. “From the poems written by him (death row convict) in the jail, it appears that he has realised his mistake which was committed by him at the time when he was of young age and that he is reformative,” a bench of Justice AK Sikri, Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Justice MR Shah said in its recent judgement.

By changing death sentence to life imprisonment of Dnyaneshwar Suresh Borkar, who was accused of kidnapping and murdering a minor child for ransom, the bench said that it acknowledged the gravity of the offence committed by him but “unable to satisfy ourselves that this case would fall in the category of “rarest of rare case” warranting the death sentence. The top court also took into consideration that the accused at the time of the commission of the offence was of 22 years, by now, he has spent 18 years in jail and while behind bars, his conduct was good, and he is not a professional killer.

“The accused (Borkar) has tried to join the society and also tried to become a civilized man and has completed his graduation in BA from jail. He has tried to become reformative,” said the bench, adding that he can be reformed and rehabilitated. The judgement said, “The details show there is a possibility that accused would not commit similar criminal acts. The accused would not be a continuing threat to society. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the opinion that in the facts and circumstances of the case, the decision of capital punishment is not warranted.”

Senior Advocate Anand Grover, who appeared for the accused, had told the top court that during the span of 18 years in the jail, not only he has learned a lesson but he has realized the mistake committed by him. He has tried to become a civilized person, completed his graduation and has also undergone training of Gandhian thoughts undertaken by Gandhi Research Foundation, Advocate Grover added. He also submitted that the poems written by the accused in the jail reflect his current mind of state and by which it can be said that he has realized the mistake committed by him at the time when he was just 22 years of age.

The top court was hearing an appeal filed by Borkar against the Bombay High Court's confirmation of his death sentence awarded by the trial court.The top court also took into consideration that the accused at the time of the commission of the offence was of 22 years, by now, he has spent 18 years in jail.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-murder-convicts-reformative-poems-saved-him-from-death-sentence-2001669 (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Supreme Court commutes Santosh Mane’s death sentence to life term (Maharashtra)

By Express News Service |Pune |Published: January 10, 2019 4:44:39 am

On January 25, 2012, Mane, then 41 years old, had hijacked a state transport bus and mowed down nine persons with it. Mane, who was a state transport bus driver, had reported to work around 7 am at the Swargate bus depot, instead of his scheduled time of 10.30 am

Mane, then 41 years old, had hijacked a state transport bus and mowed down nine persons with it.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted the death sentence awarded to Santosh Mane, convicted of mowing down and killing nine persons in Pune in 2012, to life imprisonment. Mane had been awarded the death sentence by a sessions court in 2013, which had said the crime fell in the rarest of rare’ category. A year later, the Bombay High Court had upheld the death penalty. It had rejected the plea by the defence, which had argued that Mane should be acquitted of the murder charges as he had committed the crime while he was ‘mentally unsound’. 

On January 25, 2012, Mane, then 41 years old, had hijacked a state transport bus and mowed down nine persons with it. Mane, who was a state transport bus driver, had reported to work around 7 am at the Swargate bus depot, instead of his scheduled time of 10.30 am. He had taken out a bus from the depot using a master key and then gone on a rampage, knocking down many two-wheelers, four-wheelers and pedestrians on the route, before he was stopped by local residents and police. By that time, Mane had traversed 15 km, across Golibar Maidan, Bhavani Peth, Gultekdi, Satara Road and Sinhagad Road. As many as 37 persons were injured in the incident.

Amol Chitale, who represented Mane in the Supreme Court, told The Indian Express over the phone, “Since the beginning, the defence’s plea was that at the time of committing the offence, Mane was not mentally stable and so Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code should have been applied. However, the trial court and the High Court had rejected this plea and had awarded the death penalty to him.” IPC’s Section 84 states that ‘nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, by reason of unsoundness of mind, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is doing what is either wrong or contrary to law.’ Chitale added, “In the Supreme Court, we continued our defence on the same tenet, that at the time of the offence, he was mentally unsound… this was brought to light from observations when he was under psychiatric evaluation for some days after the incident. Today, the Supreme Court has commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. The detailed judgement is yet to come.” Nishant Katneshwarkar, the standing counsel for the state of Maharashtra in the Supreme Court, said, “In our submission, we had opposed the defence’s plea of insanity. We argued that both the trial court and the High Court had considered the documents pertaining to the case and had rejected the plea that he was unstable.”

Advocate Dhananjay Mane from Solapur, who represented Mane in the trial court and also in the High Court, said, “It has been a long battle to prove that at the time of the incident, he was not in a sound state of mind. Police have tried all the ways to prove that he was not unstable. We welcome the Supreme Court’s verdict and will comment further after the detailed order.”

What Happened That Day

On the morning of January 25, 2012, some time after 7 am, Mane started the MSRTC bus using a ‘master key’. Then he started driving the bus on the wrong side of Shankar Sheth Road, towards Hotel Seven Loves, where he knocked down a vehicle. A local resident, who saw the incident, contacted the police control room at 8.05 am. Soon, two policemen on a motorcycle started chasing the bus. However, Mane continued to drive the bus at a high speed, and on the wrong side of the road in some stretches. He travelled about 15 km via Golibar Maidan, Bhavani Peth, Gultekdi, Maharashi Nagar, Satara Road, Mitramandal Chowk, Sarasbag, Sinhagad Road, knocking down two-wheelers, cars and pedestrians on the route. To stop the bus, Police Constable Deepak Kakade fired 10 rounds from his 9-mm carbine gun, but Mane did not stop. However, he was forced to slow down after the bus collided with two cars on Sinhagad Road. This helped local residents and police, who had given him chase, to overtake the vehicle and pull Mane out of the bus, at around 8.45 pm. Mane was taken into police custody and his victims were rushed to different hospitals in the city for treatment.

Mane’s ‘History of Illness’ 

While MSRTC officials claimed that Mane, a bus driver with the state transport service, was normal and had no history of medical problems, his wife and doctor had claimed that he was under stress and suffering from mental illness for the last two years. Mane was being treated by Dr Dilip Burate, a psychiatrist in Solapur. Speaking to the The Indian Express over the phone at the time, Burate had said, “Mane had come to me with complaints of hallucinations and was also saying many irrelevant things, as I remember the case and based on the documents that I have. He had come to me for a month… and I had given him medications. After that, he didn’t come.” When The Indian Express contacted Burate on Wednesday, he expressed his unwillingness to comment on the issue. Mane’s wife Sonali had said at the time of the incident, he was under severe stress due to work. “He had repeatedly requested the MSRTC not to give him driving duty on long routes. But he was forced to drive buses on long routes. He had faced problems earlier also due to work-related stress. So, he had also taken a month-long leave for treatment,” she had said at the time. Mane’s family members could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-commutes-santosh-manes-death-sentence-to-life-term-5531151/ (accessed 07 February 2019)

SC commutes death penalty of man who raped killed 3-yr-old girl (Maharashtra)

PTI December 12, 2018 18:22 IST

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted the death sentence awarded to a man for raping and murdering a three-year-old girl in 2007 and directed that he be not released from jail for the "rest of his normal life". 

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur observed that the trial court, the Bombay High Court and also the apex court had earlier not taken into consideration the probability of reformation, rehabilitation and social re-integration of the convict into society while awarding him death penalty. Rajendra Pralhadrao Wasnik was awarded death sentence by a trial court in Amravati in September 2008 for raping and murdering a minor girl in the intervening night of March 2-3, 2007. The trial court's verdict was upheld by the high court in March 2009 following which Wasnik had moved the apex court. The apex court had dismissed his appeal in February 2012 and later, his plea seeking review of the judgement was also rejected by the top court in March 2013.

However, in March 2015, his review petition was restored following a constitution bench judgement in which the apex court had held that appeals pending before it in death sentence cases be heard only by a bench of three-judges. While commuting the death sentence, the bench said the prosecution was "remiss in not producing the available DNA evidence and the failure to produce material evidence must lead to an adverse presumption against the prosecution and in favour of the appellant (Wasnik) for the purposes of sentencing". "For all these reasons, we are of opinion that it would be more appropriate looking to the crimes committed by the appellant and the material on record including his overall personality and subsequent events, to commute the sentence of death awarded to the appellant but direct that he should not be released from custody for the rest of his normal life," said the bench, also comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta.

Dealing with the aspect of death penalty, the bench said that the words - 'sentenced to death' - would have a chilling effect on anyone, including a hardened criminal and though the society demands such punishment, there was no conclusive study on its deterrent impact. It said there were views which suggest that punishment for a crime must be looked at with a more "humanitarian lens" and the causes for driving a person to commit a heinous crime must be explored. "There is also a view that it must be determined whether it is possible to reform, rehabilitate and socially reintegrate into society even a hardened criminal along with those representing the victims of the crime," it said. "These conflicting views make it very difficult for courts to take a decision and without expert evidence on the subject, courts are ill-equipped to form an objective opinion," the bench said.

Referring to various judgements rendered by the court earlier, the bench observed the law clearly and unequivocally mandates that probability that a convict can be reformed and rehabilitated in society must be seriously and earnestly considered by the courts before awarding death sentence. "Therefore, we should not forget that the criminal, however ruthless he might be, is nevertheless a human being and is entitled to a life of dignity notwithstanding his crime. Therefore, it is for the prosecution and the courts to determine whether such a person, notwithstanding his crime, can be reformed and rehabilitated," it said. The bench noted that there could be instances where the social re-integration of the convict may not be possible and in such a case, the option of a long duration of imprisonment was permissible. "In other words, directing imprisonment for a period greater than 14 years (say 20 or 25 years) could unquestionably foreclose the imposition of a sentence of death, being an alternative option to capital punishment," it said.

It said the remarkable technological advancements in forensic science and scientific investigations must be fully used and the "archaic methods" of probe must be given up. The court said mere pendency of one or more criminal cases against a convict cannot be a factor for consideration while awarding a sentence as it violates the fundamental presumption of innocence – a human right - that everyone is entitled to. "It must be appreciated that a sentence of death should be awarded only in the rarest of rare cases, only if an alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed and only after full consideration of all factors keeping in mind that a sentence of death is irrevocable and irretrievable upon execution," it said. The bench, while noting that there were more than one criminal case against the convict, expressed shock and anguish that he had the opportunity to commit the offences alleged against him on more than one occasion. "This could have been possible only if the appellant had been on bail and our shock and anguish is that in the background of the facts before us, the appellant was actually granted bail," it said.

Source: https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2018/12/12/lgd12-sc-death.html (Accessed 25 December 2018)

Rajiv Gandhi assassination case: CBI seeks dismissal of Perarivalan’s plea (Tamil Nadu)

By PTI |Published: March 12, 2018 1:33:27 pm

On February 18, 2014, the top court had commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment, along with that of two other prisoners - Santhan and Murugan - on grounds of a delay of 11 years in deciding their mercy pleas by the Centre. 

The CBI has told the Supreme Court that A G Perarivalan’s plea seeking a recall of its May 1999 judgment upholding his conviction in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case should be dismissed as it was devoid of any merits. In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the CBI’s Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), probing the larger conspiracy aspect behind Gandhi’s assassination, has said that the role of convict A G Perarivalan in the conspiracy resulting in the killings of the former prime minister and others have already been upheld by the top court. The agency said that the application seeking a recall of May 11, 1999, apex court judgment was not maintainable since it seeks to reopen the whole matter on merits which cannot be permissible. The MDMA also said that Perarivalan’s petition seeking review of the apex court’s order upholding his conviction in the case has already been dismissed.

Perarivalan

“It’s, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this court may be pleased to dismiss the application for recall of judgment dated May 11, 1999, in the interest of justice and impose heavy cost 0n the applicant (Perarivalan) herein,” the agency said in its affidavit. The affidavit was filed in pursuance of the apex court’s January 24 direction asking the CBI to respond to Perarivalan’s plea seeking a recall of the May 1999 order upholding his conviction. The court had termed as “serious” and “debatable” the questions raised by Perarivalan. He has sought a recall of the apex court’s order, saying he was not aware of the conspiracy. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991, at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally. Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.

Gandhi’s assassination was perhaps the first case of suicide bombing which had claimed the life of a high-profile leader. In its May 1999 order, the top court had upheld the death sentence of four convicts — Perarivalan, Murugan, Santham, and Nalini — in the assassination case. In April 2000, the Tamil Nadu governor commuted the death sentence of Nalini on the basis of the state government’s recommendation and an appeal by former Congress president and Rajiv Gandhi’s widow Sonia Gandhi.

On February 18, 2014, the top court had commuted the death sentence of Perarivalan to life imprisonment, along with that of two other prisoners – Santhan and Murugan – on grounds of a delay of 11 years in deciding their mercy pleas by the Centre. In his application, 45-year-old Perarivalan has said that he was held guilty of supplying two nine-volt batteries which were allegedly used in the improvised explosive device (IED) that killed Gandhi. The reasons due to which his conviction was sustained by the apex court would “vanish completely” in the wake of the affidavit by V Thiagarajan, a former CBI officer, it said. Thiagarajan, then a superintendent of police of CBI, had recorded Perarivalan’s confessional statement under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. The application claimed that in his affidavit the former CBI officer had stated that Perarivalan had expressly stated in his confessional statement that at the time of purchase of the batteries, he had absolutely no idea for what purpose these were going to be used.

While hearing Perarivalan’s plea earlier, the top court had observed that the probe by CBI’s Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) in the larger conspiracy aspect behind Gandhi’s assassination did not appear to have achieved “much headway” and could be “endless”. The MDMA, set up in 1998 on the recommendations of Justice M C Jain Commission of Inquiry which had probed the conspiracy aspect of Gandhi’s assassination, is headed by a CBI official and comprises officers from IB, RAW and Revenue Intelligence and other agencies.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/rajiv-gandhi-assassination-case-cbi-seeks-dismissal-of-perarivalans-plea-5094953/ (Accessed 24 December 2018)

Calcutta HC acquits 2 death row convicts in youth murder case (Kolkota)

PTI February 9, 2018

UPDATED: February 9, 2018 19:45 IST 

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court today acquitted two death row inmates and commuted the capital sentence of six others to jail terms in connection with the murder of a youth in North 24 Parganas district in 2014.

Rejecting the prosecutions plea to uphold the capital sentence, awarded by a trial court in 2016, a division bench comprising Justice Nadira Patherya and Justice D P Dey acquitted Suman Sarkar and Amal Barui. The bench also commuted the death sentence of Shyamal Karmakar to 30 years in prison and that of Ratan Samaddar, Tarak Das, Tapas Biswas, Somnath Sardar and Suman Das to life imprisonment. The court, however, upheld the lower courts decision to award five-year prison term of two others, who were found guilty of harbouring the eight accused in the case. 

A resident of Bamangachi in North 24 Parganas district, Sourav Chowdury (21), was abducted and murdered on July 5, 2014, after he protested against liquor consumption in public places. All 10 accused were arrested by the district police and tried before the Barasat Sessions Court in April 2016. The sessions court ordered death penalty for eight of them and five years imprisonment for the other two. The 10 convicts had moved appeals before the high court in 2016. Following extensive hearings in the case, the order was passed by the division bench today.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/pti-feed/story/calcutta-hc-acquits-2-death-row-convicts-in-youth-murder-case-1166192-2018-02-09 (Accessed 24 December 2018)

Bombay High Court quashes death penalty to Pune bakery blast convict

Written by Aamir Khan |Mumbai |Updated: March 18, 2016 4:13:24 am

German Bakery blasts: The Bombay High Court on Thursday acquitted Mirza Himayat Baig, the lone accused who was awarded death penalty for "masterminding" the attack that killed 17 persons in Pune in 2010.

Mirza Himayat Baig, the lone convict in the 2010 German Bakery blast who was handed the death sentence by a Pune court, was acquitted of all terror charges by the Bombay High Court Thursday which, however, found him guilty of the charge of possession of explosives and confirmed life imprisonment on that count. Seventeen people died and over 50 were injured in the blast. In April 2013, when he was being awarded the death sentence, Baig had wept in court, pleading innocence and saying he was “the 18th victim of the blast”. The Maharashtra ATS had claimed he was the blast “mastermind”.

On Thursday, minutes after he was produced in the High Court, a division bench, comprising Justices N H Patil and S B Shukre, read out its order to Baig: “Aapko phaansi ki sazaa se bari kiya jaata hai (you are being acquitted of the death penalty).” Convicted by the Pune court under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Indian Penal Code and Explosive Substances Act, the High Court bench acquitted him on all five counts of death and four counts of life imprisonment while confirming a life term under Section 5(b) of the Explosive Substances Act. The charge of IPC section 474 (possession of document, knowing it to be forged and intending to use it as genuine) was also confirmed — the maximum punishment of seven years will run concurrently.

Two key witnesses had moved applications in the matter, saying they were “coerced” into giving statements against Baig during the trial. In addition, AAP leader Ashish Khetan had moved an application, claiming he had carried out a sting operation on these witnesses which revealed they were “coerced” and “tutored” by the Maharashtra ATS to give testimony. One of the key arguments of the defence in the case was that there was no CCTV camera inside the German Bakery. On October 6, 2015, the High Court was shown CCTV footage that recorded the explosion. The prosecution had then argued on the basis of the footage. It showed 15-20 customers including a middle-aged man wearing a field cap with a rucksack and a black shoulder bag. 

German bakery blast convict Himayat Baig (Photo: Deccan Chronicle)

He was seen placing an order at the counter and heading to the delivery counter. In the footage, the same man was seen carrying a bag on his shoulder and walking out of the German Bakery — it was recorded by a CCTV camera placed right outside. This man, the prosecution claimed, was Yasin Bhatkal, founder of the outlawed Indian Mujahideen. Lawyer Mehmood Pracha, who defended Baig, had denied presence of any CCTV camera inside the German Bakery. Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare had said the two witnesses were working with Baig and were close to him. The prosecution had also claimed recovery of RDX from the blast site, matching with traces found in Baig’s house. The High Court rejected the applications filed by the two witnesses and Khetan. It directed that Baig be shifted to Nagpur Central Jail from Arthur Road Central Jail in Mumbai, where he is currently lodged, in view of a threat perception. This was done on the request of Thakare.

After the verdict, Thakare said he would recommend that the government appeal against the judgment on the ground that if Baig was guilty of possessing explosive substance, how could there not be a link between him and the execution of the blast. Pracha, on the other hand, said: “This judgment by the Bombay High Court has quashed all terror charges against Baig. Evidences were doctored to implicate an innocent person. I will appeal to the government, media and the police machinery to find the real culprits. Only then, justice to the families of the 17 people who lost their lives will be served. We too will move the Supreme Court to get full acquittal.” Baig’s brother Tariq said he had always known his brother as a disciplined, dedicated student: “He had an innate zeal to do well in studies, perhaps because we were all illiterate. He also wanted to serve the community at large. He fell victim to a botched-up investigation.”

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/german-bakery-blasts-bombay-hc-acquits-himayat-baig-for-hand-in-blast-but-gives-him-life-under-explosives-act/ (Accessed 20 December 2018) 

Bombay High Court reduces death penalty to life imprisonment of youth who raped and murdered his 4-year-old niece

Mar 15, 2016, 06:50 AM IST

The Bombay High Court on Monday commuted the death sentence of a 21-year-old youth who was sentenced death penalty for raping and murdering his four-year-old niece in 2012 at Sangli. The court thus sentenced the accused to suffer life imprisonment for both the charges which would run consecutively.

A division bench of justices VK Tahilramani and AS Gadkari reduced the sentence of Vithal Atugade who is lodged in prison ever since his arrest in 2012. The court while reducing the sentenced accepted the defense advocate Abhay Apte's argument that the accused was of tender age and belonged to an economically weaker section of the society. Public prosecutor Geeta Mulekar said the accused was the first cousin of the victim's mother. On the day of the offence he told the victim's mother that he was going to a saloon and taking her with him. Then he took her to a secluded place and raped her, for four hours he waited for the victim to die on her own. But when it did not he dragged her away for two kilo meters and buried her.

The mother of the victim lodged a missing complaint with the police and informed that the victim was last seen with the accused. Based on which the accused came to be arrested two days after and during interrogation he confessed to have committed the crime. He also showed the place of the burial, police exhumed the body and the victim was identified through her clothes and ornaments. During the trial, the prosecution examined 23 witnesses to bring home the guilt of the accused and based on the testimony of the witnesses and the medical evidence the sessions court in Sangli handed down the death penalty to the accused. This came to be challenged by the accused in the high court and the state also moved the court for confirming the death sentence.

Apte said the court has accepted my argument that the incident was not premeditated and considered the young age as a strong mitigating circumstance to reduce the sentence from death to life imprisonment.

Source: https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-bombay-high-court-reduces-death-penalty-to-life-imprisonment-of-youth-who-raped-and-murdered-his-4-year-old-niece-2189272 (Accessed 20 December 2018)

Madhya Pradesh: Man’s death penalty changed to life term

TNN | Jun 19, 2015, 12.31PM IST

INDORE: Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court on Thursday converted death sentence of a man, convicted in gruesome rape and murder of 9-year-old, to life imprisonment. 

Jagdish Mehar, 30, resident of Pallapur village of Rajgargh district of Madhya Pradesh, was in January 2015, convicted by session court for kidnapping, rape and murder of 9-year-old girl and awarded capital punishment under various sections of IPC and Protection of Children From Sexual Offence Act. Advocates Abhijeet Dube and Rekha Shrivastava said this is the first time in recent times, when HC has reduced the punishment, in such a sensitive case. 

Jagdish had kidnapped the minor from his village and raped her on March 9, 2014. On March 13, 2014, a decomposed body of victim was recovered by police, and after investigation, Jagdish was arrested and booked. Sessions court held Jagdish guilty of murder, rape and kidnapping. As per rule, capital punishment awarded by session court is tabled before high court for approval. 

In high court, double bench of Justices PK Jaiswal and JK Jain set aside the capital punishment for murder, and their order observed that it was not murder but culpable homicide, so he could not be awarded capital punishment. HC upheld charges of rape and kidnapping and approved life sentence.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/Mans-death-penalty-changed-to-life-term/articleshow/47731693.cms [last accessed 03.07.2015]

Bombay HC commutes man’s death sentence to life

Shibu Thomas, TNN | Jan 29, 2015, 03.54AM IST

MUMBAI: A 28-year old Solapur resident who stabbed to death his son and sister-in-law - both minors, and attempted to murder his wife escaped the gallows on Wednesday. The Bombay high court held Sunil Ombase guilty of the double murder, but commuted his punishment to a life imprisonment and 10 additional years in jail on the attempt to murder charge. 

Ombase had claimed that his wife taunting him of impotency had led him to assault her and the children in a fit of rage. While his wife denied the allegation, she admitted in cross examination that she had provoked her husband and he had no intention to kill them. This admission by the wife, as well as the Ombase's young age and the fact that he had no criminal antecedents weighed with the court, which commuted his punishment. 

'' We are of the considered view that it is not a case which falls in the category of "rarest or rare" case where imposition of death sentence is imperative,'' said a division bench of Justice Vijaya Kapse- Tahilramani and Justice Ajay Gadkari. 

The contention of Ombase's lawyers that this was not a case of murder, but culpable homicide not amounting to murder, was however not accepted by the HC. ``Even if the accused was not having intention to commit murder of the children, he inflicted knife blows on two innocent helpless children thereby causing a bodily injury, sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature and therefore, the offence committed by the accused with respect to the said two children falls undoubtedly within the purview of Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (murder),'' the HC ruled. 

The incident took place on New Year's Eve - December 31, 2012, when following an argument Ombase stabbed his wife and then stabbed the two sleeping children. Ombase fled after the incident and neighbours rushed the injured to the hospital. The children were declared dead on arrival and his wife survived. Ombase was arrested over one and a half months after the incident. A sessions court in 2013 convicted Ombase and sentenced him to death. 

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Bombay-HC-commutes-mans-death-sentence-to-life/articleshow/46048650.cms [last accessed 06.02.2015] 

Death for seven commuted

Vasantha Kumar, TNN | Dec 18, 2014, 06.17AM IST

BENGALURU: The Karnataka high court on Wednesday commuted the death penalty of 7 members of the banned Deendar Channabasaveshwara Anjuman sect in connection with the 2000 serial church blasts. But the conviction of all 22 accused in the case has been upheld. 

The blasts had occurred in June-July 2000 in Bengaluru, Hubballi and Wadi in Kalaburagi district. A division bench headed by Justice N Kumar commuted the death penalty awarded by a special court in 2008 to 7 of the convicts to life sentence. Also, the life sentence imposed on 15 other members of the sect has been upheld. 

"The evidence on record clearly establishes that each of the accused is party to the conspiracy. They wanted to see how Hindus and Christians fight among themselves, so that peace in the society is destroyed. They printed pamphlets and circulated them, with the hope that Christians and Hindus would lock horns. In a country which believes in peaceful co-existence of all religions, the action of these is unpardonable," the bench said. 

The bench even cited Karnataka's anthem penned by Rashtrakavi Kuvempu to describe the state as a garden of religions. While commuting the death penalty, the bench said no loss of life was reported in the blasts and the only intent was to bring disharmony. 

"It is of utmost importance that a strong message is sent to all these misguided, evil-minded elements in society and in particular, the youth of the Muslim community to desist from indulging in any such anti-national activities lest the entire community gets a bad name. This is a country and state, which belongs to all religious denominations," the bench added. Zia-ul-Hassan, the kingpin, went absconding with his four children to Mardan city of Pakistan, and later died.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Death-for-seven-commuted/articleshow/45556579.cms [last accessed 06.02.2015]

HC commutes death sentence of rapist, awards 25 years jail

Thursday, 18 September 2014 - 9:00pm IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

The Delhi High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence awarded to a 24-year-old youth for raping and murdering his minor neighbour but directed that he be kept behind the bars for 25 years in order to "guard the society from him".

A bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Mukta Gupta commuted to life imprisonment the capital punishment given to convict Bharat Kumar in 2013, saying though he is a sexually dangerous person, he is "not a dangerous sexual predator" and the solution to the present case is not to remove him from the world. "The sexual offenders can be classified as criminal sexual psychopaths who are least dangerous, sexually dangerous persons and dangerous and violent sexual predators and offenders who lack empathy and remorse.

"The first category does not inflict any physical pain on the victim, the second category while perpetrating the crime cause grotesque suffering in the victim and the last category causes not only grotesque suffering in the victim but even defiles the victim after the crime." Bharat Kumar falls in the second category who not only perpetrated crime but caused grotesque suffering on the victim by raping a minor girl of tender age of 6 years and thereafter committing her murder by smashing her head with a stone. "Thus, Bharat Kumar is a sexually dangerous person and not a dangerous sexual predator and offender.

Hence, the solution to the present case is not by removing Bharat Kumar from the earth but guarding the society against him so that he does not act dangerously to other innocent lives," the court said. The court also said "no remission would be granted to him before completion of 25 years of actual imprisonment" and also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on him. The fine, if recovered, will be paid to the parents of the victim as compensation, it said.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-hc-commutes-death-sentence-of-rapist-awards-25-years-jail-2019699 [last accessed 06.02.2015]

SC commutes death sentence of 26-year-old youth

Press Trust of India | New Delhi 

July 3, 2014 Last Updated at 21:35 IST

The Supreme Court today commuted the death sentence of a 26-year-old youth to life term for killing a woman and her son saying that the convict is an educated person so there are chances of his reform. A bench of Justices H L Dattu and S J Mukhopadhayacommuted the death awarded to Santosh Kumar Singh on the ground that the case does not fall within the realms of "rarest of the rare category". "It is true that the accused has committed a heinous crime, but it cannot be held with certainty that this case falls in the rarest of the rare category. 

"On appreciation of evidence on record and keeping in mind the facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the view that sentence of death penalty would be extensive and unduly harsh," the bench said. "Accordingly, we commute the death sentence of appellant to life imprisonment. The conviction and rest part of the sentence are affirmed," the bench said. The bench noted that the accused was a tutor in the family and was known to every member of the household and there is nothing specific to suggest the motive for committing the crime except the articles and cash taken away by him. Further, it said, "It is not the case of the prosecution that the appellant cannot be reformed or that the accused is a social menace. Apart from the incident in question there is no criminal antecedent of the appellant. 

According to police, Santosh was known to the family of one Gulam Mohd as he used to come to their house to teach the children. On May 7, 2010, he came to their house in Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh and returned after sometime and attacked Gulam's wife and their children with an iron hammer. Thereafter, he looted cash and jewellery from their house. The woman died on the spot while their son succumbed to injuries later. The trial court had awarded death sentence to Santosh and the sentence was also upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sc-commutes-death-sentence-of-26-year-old-youth-114070301263_1.html [last accessed 06.02.2015]

India Red Fort: Court stays attacker's death penalty

28 April 2014 Last updated at 08:13 GMT

India's Supreme Court has put on hold the death sentence of Mohammad Arif, a Pakistani man convicted of attacking Delhi's Red Fort in December 2000.

The judges accepted his lawyer's argument that there had been a long delay in deciding his case.

Arif, also known as Ashfaq Arif, was a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant who was convicted in 2005. The Supreme Court confirmed his sentence in 2011. Three people died in the attack on the 17th Century fort, an Indian landmark. Arif's is the latest in a series of high-profile cases in which the Supreme Court has commuted death sentences because those facing execution have spent so long on death row.

In February, the court commuted the death sentences of three men convicted of plotting the 1991 assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. And in January, the court had commuted the sentences of 15 death row prisoners to life in jail on the grounds of delay. On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered that a larger "constitution" bench be set up to decide Arif's case.

His lawyer had argued in the court that hanging Arif would be a violation of the constitution since he had already spent more than 13 years in jail. Arif was arrested along with his wife, Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui, four days after the Red Fort attack and found guilty of murder, criminal conspiracy and waging war against India. The trial court convicted him and six others in October 2005. He was sentenced to death, while the others received jail terms of varying lengths.

In September 2007, the high court upheld his conviction, but ordered the release of the others for lack of evidence. The Supreme Court confirmed his death penalty in 2011.

India rarely carries out executions, which are often delayed indefinitely or commuted by the president.

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-27184340 [accessed on 2nd May 2014]

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