A Delhi court has awarded life term to a man for killing his brother-in-law over suspicion of his illicit relations with his wife, observing that “Justice demands court should impose punishment befitting the crime so that it reflects public abhorrence of the offence.”
District Judge Talwant, Singh while awarding life term to Delhi resident Bharat, ruled out the possibility of awarding capital punishment saying, from the facts and circumstances, present case does not qualify the “notoriety” of being rarest of rare cases.
“Only alternative available with the court for murder is life imprisonment. Accordingly, convict Bharat is awarded life imprisonment and fine of Rs 25,000 for the offence punishable under section 302 (murder) of IPC,” the judge said.
It said that general policy which courts have followed regarding sentencing is that punishment must be appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the offence committed.
“Imposition of appropriate punishment is the manner in which the courts respond to the society’s cry for justice against the criminals. Justice demands that courts should impose punishment befitting the crime so that the courts reflect public abhorrence of the crime,” the judge said.
The court said that out of the fine amount, Rs 20,000 shall be paid to the wife of the deceased and directed that since an earning member of a family has been lost, District Legal Service Authority (East) should pay appropriate compensation to the dependents.
The court had convicted Bharat on August 28, saying that taking all the facts and circumstances of the case into account, it has been found that there is sufficient evidence against the accused to prove the murder charges against him.
“The oral evidence is duly corroborated by the medical and expert evidence, the evidence of recoveries and extra judicial confession. I accordingly hold accused Bharat guilty for committing murder of deceased Vinod and convict him for offence under section 302(murder) of IPC,” the judge had said.
