Published: Monday, Feb 27, 2012, 9:45 IST
By Rakesh Bhatnagar | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
Putting to rest the controversy over whether a person charged with rape and murdering his victim should be sentenced to the extreme penalty of death, the Supreme Court has ruled that in such a rarest of rare case an accused can’t be given the capital sentence but life term till the end of his life.
This ruling has given a new thrust to the raging debate on compulsorily giving the extreme sentence of death to a rapist. But conscious of the consequences of such a legislation that could lead to serious ramifications, it is argued that the victim couldlose the life too after having suffered the worst kind of brutality.
In a recent verdict, the top court has set aside a judgment by the Allahabad high court that upheld the sentence of death to one Amit, a teenager who raped and murdered a 13-year-old school going girl seven years ago.
“In such cases of rape followed by murder by a young man, instead of death sentence a life imprisonment should be awarded with a direction that life sentence imposed will extend to the full life of the appellant (accused) but subject to any remission or commutation at the instance of the government for good and sufficient reasons,” the court added.
A trial court and the HC had observed that the offence committed by Amit squarely fell in the ‘rarest of rare’ category, thus the appropriate sentence would be death.
The court expressed the hope that the accused would be reformed and turn out to be a better citizen in future. They said he had never committed such an offence in the past and a chance must be given to him to become a good citizen.
In 2008, the top court had however taken into account the increasing number of rape and murder cases as it handed down death sentence to a resident of Pune for raping and killing a girl living in his neighbourhood.
“A large number of cases in recent times coming before this court involving rape and murder of young girls, is a matter of concern,” judges had added.
They also rejected the plea for mercy made by the accused and said, “Undue sympathy to impose inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system to undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law.”
Showing posts with label daily noose.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily noose.... Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Friday, October 9, 2009
26 year old man sentenced to death in 2 cases Kerala
Monday, October 5, 2009
Judge orders execution of death sentence
A Lohardaga sessions judge on Monday ordered the execution of death sentence of Mofil Khan and Mobarak Khan in the Makandu massacre
case. The Lohardaga sessions court has fixed 4 am on September 18 to carry out the sentence.
When the court sentenced four persons to death in the same case on August 5, 2008, the latter moved high court. It also confirmed the punishment for Mofil and Mobarak, while Vakil Khan and Saddam Khan were given life.
In a notice to officer-in-charge of Lohardaga jail, the sessions judge authorized him to carry out the execution and return this warrant with an endorsement certifying that the sentence has been executed.
The jailer of Lohardaga jail, Vinay Kumar Singh, said he has received the notice and forwarded it to Birsa Munda Central Jail at Hotwar in Ranchi the same day.
On June 6, 2007, Gaffar Khan's sons, Mofil and Mobarak, along with their sons and other relatives, killed their own brother Hanif Khan (50), his wife Kasmun Bibi (45) and six sons, Pale (25), Ibran (17), Danish (15), Yusuf (12), Meharban (11) and Anis (9). The incident occurred at Makandu village under Kuru police station in Lohardaga district.
Source :indiatimes.com
We are not sure whether the execution have been carried out or if the mercy petitions are pending before the Governor or the President. If anybody has any information, please let us know.
case. The Lohardaga sessions court has fixed 4 am on September 18 to carry out the sentence.
When the court sentenced four persons to death in the same case on August 5, 2008, the latter moved high court. It also confirmed the punishment for Mofil and Mobarak, while Vakil Khan and Saddam Khan were given life.
In a notice to officer-in-charge of Lohardaga jail, the sessions judge authorized him to carry out the execution and return this warrant with an endorsement certifying that the sentence has been executed.
The jailer of Lohardaga jail, Vinay Kumar Singh, said he has received the notice and forwarded it to Birsa Munda Central Jail at Hotwar in Ranchi the same day.
On June 6, 2007, Gaffar Khan's sons, Mofil and Mobarak, along with their sons and other relatives, killed their own brother Hanif Khan (50), his wife Kasmun Bibi (45) and six sons, Pale (25), Ibran (17), Danish (15), Yusuf (12), Meharban (11) and Anis (9). The incident occurred at Makandu village under Kuru police station in Lohardaga district.
Source :indiatimes.com
We are not sure whether the execution have been carried out or if the mercy petitions are pending before the Governor or the President. If anybody has any information, please let us know.
man sentenced to death in Kerala for killing wife and children
Death sentence confirmed - Kerala
19 year old sentenced to death
A district judge in Dehra Dun has awarded death sentence to a 19 year old youth for raping and killing of his cousin on 24 September 2009 . The incident took place in January 2009.
Though the act may be gruesome, the district judge has not considered the young age of the accused and also rape and murder is not the rarest of rare crime.
Though the act may be gruesome, the district judge has not considered the young age of the accused and also rape and murder is not the rarest of rare crime.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Death Sentence of Deosthali mother and daughter commuted
The Bombay High Court has commuted the death sentence of Deosthali mother and daughter from Pune who have been convicted for murder of a doctor from Pune.
The Women had conducted their own trial and during the appeal also had argued themselves inspite of the High Court appointing an amicus curae in the matter.
We will try to upload the judgement as soon as it is on the Bombay High Court website.
The Women had conducted their own trial and during the appeal also had argued themselves inspite of the High Court appointing an amicus curae in the matter.
We will try to upload the judgement as soon as it is on the Bombay High Court website.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Waiting on death row: a cruel punishment
The Supreme Court in a land mark judgement in Jagdish Vs. State of M.P. delivered on 18 Sept 2009 by the bench of Justice Bedi and Justice Panchal has held that the death sentence of persons who are on death row for a very long time should be commuted. The judgement has stated that there are cases where the persons are on death row since more than 10 years. The Supreme Court in its judgement states that, 'The power of the President and the Governor to grant pardon etc. under Articles 72 and 161 of our Constitution though couched in imperative terms, has nevertheless to be exercised on the advice of the executive authority. In this background, it is the Government which, in effect, exercises that power. The condemned prisoner and his suffering relatives have, therefore, a very pertinent right in insisting that a decision in the matter be taken within a reasonable time, failing which the power should be exercised in favour of the prisoner. We, as Judges, remain largely unaware as to the reasons that ultimately bear with the Government in taking a decision either in favour of the prisoner or against him but whatever the decision it should be on sound legal principles related to the facts of the case. We must, however, say with the greatest emphasis, that human beings are not chattels and should not be used as pawns in furthering some larger political or government policy. We may hark back to our own experiences in life. Even a matter as mundane or trivial as the impending result of an examination or the report of a medical test arising out of suspicion of a serious disease, or the fate of a loved one who has gone missing or a person hanging between life and death on account of a severe injury, makes it impossible for a person to maintain his equanimity or normal way of life. Contrast this with the plight of a prisoner who has been under a sentence of death for 15 years or more living on hope but engulfed in fear as his life hangs in balance and in the hands of those who have no personal interest in his case and for whom he is only a name. Equally, consider the plight of the family of such a prisoner, his parents, wife and children, brothers and sisters, who too remain static and in a state of limbo and are unable to get on with life on account of the uncertain fate of a loved one. What makes it worse for the prisoner is the indifference and ennui which ultimately develops in the family, brought about by a combination of resignation, exhaustion, and despair. What may be asked is the fault of these hapless individuals and should they be treated in such a shabby manner.
14. The observations reproduced above become extremely relevant as of today on account of the pendency of 26 mercy petitions before the President of India, in some cases, where the Courts had awarded the death sentences more than a decade ago. We, too, take this opportunity to remind the concerned Governments of their obligations under the aforementioned statutory and Constitutional provisions.
15. Those of us who have had the occasion to inspect a Jail where executions are carried out have first hand knowledge of the agony and horror that a condemned prisoner undergoes every day. The very terminology used to identify such prisoners - death row in-mates, or condemned prisoners, with their even more explicit translations in the vernacular - tend to remind them of their plight every moment of the day. In addition to the solitary confinement and lack of privacy with respect to even the daily ablutions, the rattle on the cell door heralding the arrival of the Jailor with the prospect as the harbinger of bad news, a condemned prisoner lives a life of uncertainty and defeat. In one particular prison, the horror was exacerbated as the gallows could be seen over the wall from the condemned cells. The effect on the prisoners on seeing this menacing structure each morning during their daily exercise in the courtyard, can well be imagined. To cap it all, some of these prisoners, sentenced to death by the Sessions Judge in a case of multiple murders, were later acquitted by the High Court in appeal for lack of evidence.'
Considering the observations made by the Apex Court the government must commute all the death sentences to life immediately.
Waiting on death row: a cruel punishment
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14. The observations reproduced above become extremely relevant as of today on account of the pendency of 26 mercy petitions before the President of India, in some cases, where the Courts had awarded the death sentences more than a decade ago. We, too, take this opportunity to remind the concerned Governments of their obligations under the aforementioned statutory and Constitutional provisions.
15. Those of us who have had the occasion to inspect a Jail where executions are carried out have first hand knowledge of the agony and horror that a condemned prisoner undergoes every day. The very terminology used to identify such prisoners - death row in-mates, or condemned prisoners, with their even more explicit translations in the vernacular - tend to remind them of their plight every moment of the day. In addition to the solitary confinement and lack of privacy with respect to even the daily ablutions, the rattle on the cell door heralding the arrival of the Jailor with the prospect as the harbinger of bad news, a condemned prisoner lives a life of uncertainty and defeat. In one particular prison, the horror was exacerbated as the gallows could be seen over the wall from the condemned cells. The effect on the prisoners on seeing this menacing structure each morning during their daily exercise in the courtyard, can well be imagined. To cap it all, some of these prisoners, sentenced to death by the Sessions Judge in a case of multiple murders, were later acquitted by the High Court in appeal for lack of evidence.'
Considering the observations made by the Apex Court the government must commute all the death sentences to life immediately.
Waiting on death row: a cruel punishment
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Death Sentence Confirmed for one in Nithari case...
The Allahabad High Court the death sentence of Koli in the appeal filed against the order sessions court in one of the Nithari cases. At the same time the high Court has acquitted Pandher the employer of Koli in whose house the dead bodies were found.
Source : The Hindu - 12 September 2009
Source : The Hindu - 12 September 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Awarding Death Penalty to be made Tougher: Supreme Court
Naysayers to the death penalty can take heart. A 30-year-old Supreme Court judgment laying down "rarest of rare case" guidelines on imposition of death penalty may soon see further tightening that could make award of capital punishment an absolute rare phenomenon. In a recent order, the Supreme Court said judges, while awarding death penalty in mechanical consonance with the 1980 'Bachan Singh' judgment,appear to have lost sight of vital ingredients "the lesser alternative(life imprisonment) is unquestionably foreclosed" and "objective fairnesss tandards." These 2 ingredients must essentially be fulfiled by judges before awarding the death penalty, but have not been complied with diligently in the recent past, said a Bench of Justices S B Sinha (since retired) and M K Sharma. Concerned by the varying interpretation of the "rarest of rare case" guidelines laid down in Bachan Singh judgment, the apex court said time had come for an attempt towards deciphering a common view on this to usherin "some objectivity to the precedent on death penalty which is crumbling down under the weight of disparate interpretations". "We may come across instances where the case may belong to the rarest ofrare category, but in court's view the 'objective fairness standards'necessary to be met before death penalty can be awarded have not been complied with diligently," the Bench said. The judgment came in a case in which the apex court upheld the life sentence awarded to Mohd Farooq Abdul Gafur and others in the 1999 murder attempt on Shiv Sena leader Milind Vaidya. Though Vaidya escaped without injuries, the bullets fired by the assailants killed. It took note of the concern of legal commentators that while the rich and powerful never got the extreme penalty, "it is invariably the marginalise dand destitute who suffer extreme penalty ultimately."
Source: The Times of India, 18 August 2009
Source: The Times of India, 18 August 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
KCOCA includes death penalty...
The Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act has now included death penalty for some of the offences. The State legislature has passed the amendments on 31 July 2009. This is the second Bharatiya Janata Party Ruled State which has invoked death penalty for the state law. Last week the Gujarat assembly had included death penalty for the offences relating to illicit liquor in the state.
While the efficacy of death penalty as a punishment is being questioned worldwide the BJP governments continue to expand the scope to petty crimes also.
While the efficacy of death penalty as a punishment is being questioned worldwide the BJP governments continue to expand the scope to petty crimes also.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
President likely to discuss pending mercy petitions with PM
The Indian Express has reported that President Pratibha Patil is likely to discuss the pending mercy petitions before her very soon with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There are 26 mercy petitions pending before the president of India.
“The President would like to be apprised of the government’s stand on death penalty, especially in view of the large number of representations received from individuals and organisations such as the Amnesty International and the UN Commission on Human Rights for abolishing death penalty in the country. Before she takes a view on the issue, she intends to hold discussions with the Prime Minister,” a source in the Rashtrapati Bhavan told The Indian Express.
“The President would like to be apprised of the government’s stand on death penalty, especially in view of the large number of representations received from individuals and organisations such as the Amnesty International and the UN Commission on Human Rights for abolishing death penalty in the country. Before she takes a view on the issue, she intends to hold discussions with the Prime Minister,” a source in the Rashtrapati Bhavan told The Indian Express.
Death Penalty for selling liquour
Monday, June 22, 2009
Supreme Court: Capital punishment law unconstitutional
While striking off the death penalty of an accused in a 2001 kidnapping-and-murder case, the apex court has termed the capital punishment law "uncertain" and "falling foul of constitutional due process and equality principle."
Observing a "global move" away from death penalty, a division bench of SB Sinha and Cyraic Joseph suggested on May 13 -- "Credible research, perhaps by the Law Commission of India or the National Human Rights Commission, may allow for an up-to-date and informed discussion and debate on the subject." The ruling was made in a case where one Karthikraj Ramraj was kidnapped for a ransom and murdered by his friends, Santosh Bariyar,Sanjeevkumar Roy and Santoshkumar Roy in Bariyar's Pune residence. The Pune trial court in 2005 convicted all 3 accused. While Sanjeevkumar and Santoshkumar were sentenced to life, Bariyar was sentenced to death. This order was upheld by the Bombay high court.
The bench stated the method of weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances hasn't worked well "to remove the vice of arbitrariness" of our system.
The court observed that courts should provide clear evidence on why a convict is not fit for any reformatory or rehabilitation scheme before awarding capital punishment.
(Source: DNA India, 7 June)
Observing a "global move" away from death penalty, a division bench of SB Sinha and Cyraic Joseph suggested on May 13 -- "Credible research, perhaps by the Law Commission of India or the National Human Rights Commission, may allow for an up-to-date and informed discussion and debate on the subject." The ruling was made in a case where one Karthikraj Ramraj was kidnapped for a ransom and murdered by his friends, Santosh Bariyar,Sanjeevkumar Roy and Santoshkumar Roy in Bariyar's Pune residence. The Pune trial court in 2005 convicted all 3 accused. While Sanjeevkumar and Santoshkumar were sentenced to life, Bariyar was sentenced to death. This order was upheld by the Bombay high court.
The bench stated the method of weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances hasn't worked well "to remove the vice of arbitrariness" of our system.
The court observed that courts should provide clear evidence on why a convict is not fit for any reformatory or rehabilitation scheme before awarding capital punishment.
(Source: DNA India, 7 June)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Gruesome act does not mean 'rarest of rare' : SC
In a judgment having far-reaching consequences for married people having illicit relationships, the Supreme Court has quashed the death sentence of two people who killed the husband of a woman with whom they had an illicit relationship and three of his sons at a gurdwara in Punjab 15 years ago.
While upholding the state high court's reduction of death penalty to life imprisonment for Kamaljit Singh and Manjit Singh, sewadars at gurdwara Bara Sirhind in Sirhind, a bench of justices Mukundakam Sharma and BS Chauhan said that their behaviour was "driven more by infatuation". They did not find the brutal killings in this case as being "rarest of rare".
"Though the act is a gruesome one, it was a result of human mind going astray. No doubt, they acted in a ghastly manner for which, in our considered view, they have been adequately punished," the judges said while upholding the high court order that modified the death sentence to life imprisonment.
Their paramour, Bhinder Kaur, was also an accused and has been sentenced to life. Married to Sewa Singh, the municipal commissioner of Sirhind City, Bhinder Kaur's extra-marital relationship with the accused did not escape her family. She had to cut down her meetings with Kamaljit and Manjit. Bhinder Kaur had three grown-up sons, Rachhpal Singh alias Happy, Inderjit Singh and Kuldeep Singh, who too served at the gurdwara.
After she told them the reason she was not able to meet them, the accused "lost their balance and acted in a cruel manner" by entering Sewa Singh's house at night and killing him there. The three sons were killed in the gurdwara. For a case to be regarded as "rarest of rare", the court observed, after committing one offence another offence is committed to cover up the first one.
While upholding the state high court's reduction of death penalty to life imprisonment for Kamaljit Singh and Manjit Singh, sewadars at gurdwara Bara Sirhind in Sirhind, a bench of justices Mukundakam Sharma and BS Chauhan said that their behaviour was "driven more by infatuation". They did not find the brutal killings in this case as being "rarest of rare".
"Though the act is a gruesome one, it was a result of human mind going astray. No doubt, they acted in a ghastly manner for which, in our considered view, they have been adequately punished," the judges said while upholding the high court order that modified the death sentence to life imprisonment.
Their paramour, Bhinder Kaur, was also an accused and has been sentenced to life. Married to Sewa Singh, the municipal commissioner of Sirhind City, Bhinder Kaur's extra-marital relationship with the accused did not escape her family. She had to cut down her meetings with Kamaljit and Manjit. Bhinder Kaur had three grown-up sons, Rachhpal Singh alias Happy, Inderjit Singh and Kuldeep Singh, who too served at the gurdwara.
After she told them the reason she was not able to meet them, the accused "lost their balance and acted in a cruel manner" by entering Sewa Singh's house at night and killing him there. The three sons were killed in the gurdwara. For a case to be regarded as "rarest of rare", the court observed, after committing one offence another offence is committed to cover up the first one.
Mercy Petition Withdrawn
This news item was reported in the sunday Indian Express on 31 May 2009. It clearly states that the person on the death row is fed up with the conditions she has been forced to live in and thats the only reason she wants the death sentence to be carried out. She has voluntarily withdrawn the mercy petition filed before the President of India but it highlights the plight of the persons on death row across India and the conditions they are kept in. Below are the excerpts from the article and the link to the article.
Almost five years after she and her husband were convicted for murdering eight people, including her father, former independent MLA in Haryana Relu Ram Punia, and three children, Sonia wants to be hanged at the earliest. And she may get her wish too.
For, following her letter seeking rejection of her mercy petition, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has written to President Pratibha Patil recommending that the mercy petitions of the husband and wife be rejected and the death sentence carried out.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/let-me-die-says-woman-on-death-row-for-killing-8-govt-tells-president-show-no-mercy/468634/
Almost five years after she and her husband were convicted for murdering eight people, including her father, former independent MLA in Haryana Relu Ram Punia, and three children, Sonia wants to be hanged at the earliest. And she may get her wish too.
For, following her letter seeking rejection of her mercy petition, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram has written to President Pratibha Patil recommending that the mercy petitions of the husband and wife be rejected and the death sentence carried out.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/let-me-die-says-woman-on-death-row-for-killing-8-govt-tells-president-show-no-mercy/468634/
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Kasab: Nikam for death, Kasab's lawyer prefers lifer
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam and lawyer Abbas Kazmi defending Pakistani gunman accused in November 26 terror attack case are not only in opposite camps but also hold divergent views on capital punishment. While Nikam said capital punishment should be awarded to convicts in serious crimes like terror cases and should be expedited, Kazmi opined that punishment should be reformative. Nikam said death penalty is awarded where there is no scope for reversal and a convict is unlikely to be reformed in society. But if appeals against death penalty are kept pending in courts for a long time, then capital punishment would lose its significance. Kazmi, however, maintained, "I am against capital punishment because if we as human beings cannot give life to anyone then we do not have the right to take life also." "Look at Valmiki who reformed himself from a dacoit to a saint...punishment should be reformative and every convict should be givena chance to reform himself," Kazmi opined. The prison conditions are such that life imprisonment would be the harshest for any convict. In death penalty, a convict does not suffer after he is hanged but in case of lifer, he dies every day in jail because of hardship, he said. The perpetrators of terror attacks should be given stringent punishment,Kasab's lawyer said.
(Source: The Times of India, 18 May 2009)
(Source: The Times of India, 18 May 2009)
3 get death for killing friend
3 get death for killing friend
A fast-track court here on Monday awarded capital punishment to 3 youths for murdering their friend out of sheer jealousy as he planned to marry a girl they all fancied. 3rd additional district and sessions judge Jhoolanand Jha awarded death sentence to Gulab, Asmat and Pipiya for killing Mohd Illias, a resident of Kabirpur locality in Masudanpur village under the Nathnagar police station, with an iron rod on April 3, 2009. According to the prosecution, the trio, after stabbing Illias, threw him into a well. His body was later recovered by police. Quoting from the confessional of Asmat, prosecution counsel said the 4 friends, all in the age group of 22-24 years, were eyeing a girl of the locality. However, the girl granted her favours to Illias who wished to tie the knot with her. This infuriated the remaining 3 and they conspired to kill Illias. An FIR in this connection was lodged by Illias' father Mohd Shamsuddin, additional public prosecutor Irshad Navi said.
(Source: The Times of India, 19 May 2009)
A fast-track court here on Monday awarded capital punishment to 3 youths for murdering their friend out of sheer jealousy as he planned to marry a girl they all fancied. 3rd additional district and sessions judge Jhoolanand Jha awarded death sentence to Gulab, Asmat and Pipiya for killing Mohd Illias, a resident of Kabirpur locality in Masudanpur village under the Nathnagar police station, with an iron rod on April 3, 2009. According to the prosecution, the trio, after stabbing Illias, threw him into a well. His body was later recovered by police. Quoting from the confessional of Asmat, prosecution counsel said the 4 friends, all in the age group of 22-24 years, were eyeing a girl of the locality. However, the girl granted her favours to Illias who wished to tie the knot with her. This infuriated the remaining 3 and they conspired to kill Illias. An FIR in this connection was lodged by Illias' father Mohd Shamsuddin, additional public prosecutor Irshad Navi said.
(Source: The Times of India, 19 May 2009)
Kasab : Death Penalty
Deccan Herald
Kasab's lawyer against capital punishment
Deccan Herald - Bangalore,India
"Looking at the condition of prisons in India, which are worse than hell, I feel life imprisonment would be harsher sentence than death penalty," Kazmi said ...
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/3174/kasabs-lawyer-against-capital-punishment.html
Kasab's lawyer against capital punishment
Deccan Herald - Bangalore,India
"Looking at the condition of prisons in India, which are worse than hell, I feel life imprisonment would be harsher sentence than death penalty," Kazmi said ...
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/3174/kasabs-lawyer-against-capital-punishment.html
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