SC Commutes Death Penalty Of Murder Convict
[Editor: What the CNN IBN Report misses is that although capital punishment by definition is reserved for "The Rarest of Rare" cases, the one imposed on Devender Pal Singh Bhullar by the Supreme Court in 2002 stands out even among them. He is the only one to have been on death row even after he was actually acquitted by the presiding judge of the Supreme Court bench, Justice MB Shah. It is not uncommon for judges of the same bench to differ on the application of death sentence or for acquittals in lower courts to turn into death sentence in the apex court. But this is the only recorded case where two judges of the apex court imposed death penalty on the accused person despite his acquittal by the presiding judge of their bench. So, the question now arises is that how does the judges of Honourbale Supreme Court differ so much? Were the two judges having a pre--conceived view on this case as it involved an act of terrorism?
2ndly, his extradition from Germany, where there is no provision for Death Sentence, was NOT given due consideration by the Honourable Supreme Court. If the terrorism is the only criterion to declare a case to be "Rarest of Rare" then the government of India should come up with a white paper on the same---"Anyone having links with terrorists will be hanged". And in that case, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur could also be hanged---it is a matter of concern that the Hindu zealots shout and make blind statements without thinking of consequences. The point of the matter is that: an Engineer should be put to an effective use by the government of India instead of murdering him. Also, the Supreme Courts' taunt on Human Rights Activists have pained many from this fraternity. The efforts should be made to reduce the crime, instead of clamoring for the death of someone, convicted of a serious offense. Moreover, it is unfortunate to note that a Mechanical Engineer and a teacher, is facing the noose, and this might again be the 1st of its kind in India]
2ndly, his extradition from Germany, where there is no provision for Death Sentence, was NOT given due consideration by the Honourable Supreme Court. If the terrorism is the only criterion to declare a case to be "Rarest of Rare" then the government of India should come up with a white paper on the same---"Anyone having links with terrorists will be hanged". And in that case, Sadhvi Pragya Thakur could also be hanged---it is a matter of concern that the Hindu zealots shout and make blind statements without thinking of consequences. The point of the matter is that: an Engineer should be put to an effective use by the government of India instead of murdering him. Also, the Supreme Courts' taunt on Human Rights Activists have pained many from this fraternity. The efforts should be made to reduce the crime, instead of clamoring for the death of someone, convicted of a serious offense. Moreover, it is unfortunate to note that a Mechanical Engineer and a teacher, is facing the noose, and this might again be the 1st of its kind in India]
 |
| Photo, Courtesy: CNN IBN |
The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to murder convict M.N. Das, whose mercy petition was rejected by then President Pratibha Patil.
A bench headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi allowed the plea of Das, who had approached the Supreme Court for commutation of his death sentence on the ground that the President had taken eleven years to decide his mercy plea.
The Supreme Court, which had refused to grant a similar relief to Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar on the ground of delay in deciding mercy plea, however, commuted death sentence of Das to life imprisonment.
Das, while out on bail in another case, had beheaded one Harakanta Das at Fancy Bazaar in Assam and surrendered with the victim’s head on April 24, 1996 and in 1997, the sessions court there had sentenced him to death.
His conviction and sentence was subsequently upheld by the Gauhati High Court in 1998 and the Supreme Court in 1999.
He had moved in 1999 a mercy plea, which remained pending for eleven years before the President and was rejected in 2011.
Das had then filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court pleading for commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment since he had already spent about 14 years in jail during the disposal of his petition seeking presidential clemency.
He is currently lodged in Jorhat Central Jail in Assam.
A bench headed by Justice G.S. Singhvi allowed the plea of Das, who had approached the Supreme Court for commutation of his death sentence on the ground that the President had taken eleven years to decide his mercy plea.
The Supreme Court, which had refused to grant a similar relief to Khalistani terrorist Devinderpal Singh Bhullar on the ground of delay in deciding mercy plea, however, commuted death sentence of Das to life imprisonment.
Das, while out on bail in another case, had beheaded one Harakanta Das at Fancy Bazaar in Assam and surrendered with the victim’s head on April 24, 1996 and in 1997, the sessions court there had sentenced him to death.
His conviction and sentence was subsequently upheld by the Gauhati High Court in 1998 and the Supreme Court in 1999.
He had moved in 1999 a mercy plea, which remained pending for eleven years before the President and was rejected in 2011.
He is currently lodged in Jorhat Central Jail in Assam.
Courtesy: The Hindu
