The judgment was based on an appeal filed by a man sentenced to death for the
rape and murder of a 5-year-old in Madhya Pradesh.
If a court finds it difficult to make a choice between death penalty and life
imprisonment, it should opt for the lesser punishment, the Supreme Court said
in a recent judgment.
“Life imprisonment is the rule to which the death penalty is the exception. The
death sentence must be imposed only when life imprisonment appears to be an
altogether inappropriate punishment, having regard to the relevant facts and
circumstances of the crime,” a Bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, Mohan M.
Shantanagoudar and Indira Banerjee observed in its March 12 verdict.
The judgment was based on an appeal filed by a man sentenced to death for the
rape and murder of a five-year-old in Madhya Pradesh. He had promised her
family to drop her at school where his own daughter was studying, but the
victim did not return home that day. The school authorities informed the
parents about the absence of the child. Her body was found in a well.
Both the trial and high courts concluded the man, Sachin Kumar Singhraha,
deserves death.
Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Shantanagoudar agreed the man has
indeed committed a horrifying crime. It was both heinous and premeditated. He
had gained the trust of the victim’s family on a false pretext. His intention
was to gain custody of the child. By this, he had not only abused the faith
reposed in him but also “exploited the innocence and helplessness of a child as
young as 5 years of age.”
At the same time, Justice Shantanagoudar said there is a probability that the
man would reform, considering he never had prior criminal record. The court
also kept in mind his “overall conduct”.
“With regard to the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, we are
of the opinion that the crime in question may not fall under the category of
cases where the death sentence is necessarily to be imposed,” the court held.
But having commuted his death sentence, the apex court said a life imprisonment
simplictor would be grossly inadequate. Instead, it ordered, the convict to
serve his life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years’ imprisonment without
remission.
“We have arrived at this conclusion after giving due consideration to the age
of the accused/appellant, which is currently around 38 to 40 years,” the
judgment observed.
Source: The Hindu, Staff, March 18, 2019
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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde