The Calcutta High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to a man for the murder of his wife to rigorous imprisonment for life, holding that the trial court had wrongly categorised the case as falling within the “rarest of rare” category by relying on the rituals associated with a Hindu marriage.
A Division Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Smita Das De criticised the trial court’s observation that the appellant had forgotten the “love, affection, contribution and sacrifice” of his wife despite the Vedic mantras exchanged during their marriage.
The trial court had termed the murder “extremely brutal, diabolical, cold blooded and a motivated act”, describing the appellant’s conduct as “demonic”. It had noted that the killing took place in broad daylight at the victim’s parental home and in the presence of family members, and concluded that the death penalty was the only appropriate punishment.
The High Court, however, disagreed, holding that the trial court had failed to undertake the mandatory balancing exercise between aggravating circumstances relating to the crime and mitigating circumstances concerning the offender.
The Bench observed that the reasons assigned by the trial court for imposing capital punishment were “entirely based on the rituals of a Hindu Marriage”. It further held that the place of occurrence or the presence of the victim’s family members could not, by themselves, establish the appellant’s extreme brutality or “demonic nature”.
Emphasising the principles governing the award of the death penalty, the Court said that even in cases involving exceptionally brutal crimes, the possibility of the offender’s reform and rehabilitation must be carefully considered.
In the present case, the appellant had no criminal antecedents, had maintained satisfactory conduct in the correctional home and was undergoing counselling. A Probation Officer had also indicated the possibility of his reformation.
The Court further took into account that the appellant was 37 years old, had a minor son who had lost his mother, and an elderly mother whom he had been supporting.
The Bench also noted circumstances suggesting that the offence may not have been premeditated. The victim, appellant and other family members had tea together on the morning of the incident, while the assault occurred about half an hour later following a quarrel.
While acknowledging the gravity of the offence, the High Court held that the aggravating circumstances could not be considered in isolation. Reiterating that “rigorous imprisonment for life is the rule and death sentence is an exception”, the Bench declined to confirm the death penalty and commuted the sentence to rigorous imprisonment for life.
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