Abolish Death Penalty India: Indore

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Rajwada rape: SC stay on death penalty

TNN | Mar 23, 2019, 10.08 AM IST

INDORE: Supreme Court has granted a stay on execution of death penalty to a man convicted of rape and murder of a three-month-old infant at Rajwada on April 20, 2018. The convict has moved two separate petitions before Apex court, one challenging the death sentence granted to him, while another is an appeal challenging the order by the high court and trial court convicting him of the rape and murder of the infant.

Both the cases were heard by three judge bench of Chief Justice of India, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna on March 14. The order granting stay on the death sentence was delivered on March 20. Both the cases were filed on January 21. The plea on behalf of the convict has been moved by Delhi-based advocate Rajat Mittal. The next date of hearing of the two cases has been fixed on April 29, 2019.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/rajwada-rape-sc-stay-on-death-penalty/articleshowprint/68529794.cms (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Friday, February 6, 2015

Death sentence to trio for rape, murder of five-year-old in Indore

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Indore | Updated: Aug 21, 2014 08:03 IST A double bench of the high court in Indore has upheld the death sentence given to three persons responsible for raping and murdering a five-year old girl. The trio had then threw her body in a nullah at Malviya Nagar. The incident had occurred two years ago. Justice S K Seth and Justice P K Jaiswal upheld the death sentence given by the session court on April 26, 2013, to Babu alias Ketan (22), Jitu alias Jeetendra (20) and Sunny alias Devendra (22) for abduction, murder, rape and concealing evidences, said public prosecutor Deepak Rawal. The defence had tried to argue that the identification of the three accused had been done wrongfully. Also, the seizure of the iron rod used to kill the girl was also not done as per the due procedure. Same was the case with the auto-rickshaw which was used to transport the five-year-old girl. However, for the prosecution, the matching of the DNA profile of the three accused and the samples recovered from the body of the victim, helped prove the case. Also, the statements of an eye-witness who had seen one of the accused taking the little girl away with him, convinced the judges and they upheld the death sentence, Rawal said. Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/indore/death-sentence-to-trio-for-rape-murder-of-five-year-old-in-indore-upheld/article1-1254732.aspx [last accessed 06.02.2015]

The Death Penalty Scenario in India

India is one of 193 countries that retains the death penalty. Some judges have delivered landmark verdicts upholding the rights of death row prisoners, while debates continue advocating abolition or reform of sentencing policies. The Indian government remains committed to retention, asserting executions occur only in “rarest of rare” cases. The death penalty applies to crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism, desertion, inducement to suicide of a minor or mentally-retarded person, and in certain cases of rape. Outrage over child rape and murder has intensified these discussions. After an unofficial eight-year moratorium, the government executed Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai attacks) in 2012 and Afzal Guru (Parliament attack) in 2013, both covertly and immediately after mercy petitions were rejected. Prior to this, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in 2004 after 13 years on death row. Following these, many mercy petitions have been rejected, creating fear among death row convicts. Courts continue to hand down death sentences at an increasing rate. Empirical studies highlight the plight of death row prisoners. The India Exclusion Report 2017-18 found fair trial rights largely denied, with convicts often marginalized by caste, religion, poverty, and education. The Death Penalty Research Project (2015) documented socio-economic profiles and experiences of death row prisoners. Dr. Reena Mary George’s studies (2014, 2009) emphasized poverty, social exclusion, and dignity as central to death row experiences, and examined the human rights impact of the penalty. According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2015, 101 prisoners were on death row, with many sentences commuted to life. The “rarest of rare” doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in the 1980s has not substantially limited death sentences, which have increased over the decades. Justice Joseph (2018) reaffirmed the Bachan Singh judgment but urged restriction of the death penalty to only those cases meeting its criteria. While updating the blog and conducting my own empirical studies, I observed the heinous nature of the crimes that were committed and thought about the families, about their loss, about the victims who for no fault of their own died. If I lost my relative or a dear friend, would I still oppose death penalty and would I still advocate to abolish the death sentence? Having worked in the criminal justice system and also having the seen the other side, where often it is the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed who are on death row makes me want to advocate for abolition of this punishment. Victims should definitely get justice for their loss, for their pain. No one should escape the rule of law. As long as humanity exists; crime will exist. Should we not re-consider our sentencing policies? Reena Mary George