'Because Of Supreme Court's Forgiving Nature, Country Facing Crimes' : Justice Datta On Death Penalty Commutations
While hearing a remission matter today, Justice Dipankar Datta orally criticised the forgiving nature of the Supreme Court in commuting death sentences into life imprisonments. He stated that the Court will someday have to draw a line because the country is facing a crisis because of the increased number of crimes.
A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu was hearing a case where the person was convicted for the offence of murder and remission was sought by him. Justice Datta orally commented that there was a time when murder convictions were based on the 'rarest of rare' doctrine because the offence of murder in those days were also rare. But such in not the case at present.
He recalled a case where the father had raped his eldest daughter and murdered her. He was sentenced to life imprisonment based on the testimony of the children's mother. However, his sentence was commuted and while out on bail, he committed the murder of his wife, taking revenge for giving testimony against him. Based on the testimony of the younger children, the father was granted death punishment, but the Supreme Court commuted it yet again on grounds that he didn't commit the murder of the younger children.
He said: : "This Court in a particular case, and the author of the judgment is one of the authors in Shatrughan [judgment]. Death was commuted in a case, just hear the facts. Father raped his elder daughter, murdered here. Please listen. You have been there in the criminal justice system right from your early days. Father rapes the daughter and murders her and goes to jail on the basis of the testimony of the mother. After some years, the father comes out on parol, murders the mother in the presence of the younger child sister. On the basis of the younger child sister's testimony, he is given death and the death is commuted to life on the grounds that he didn't commit the murder of the younger child."
Justice Datta added: "It's because of the Supreme Court's forgiving nature, India is facing this...This is the Supreme Court. That is why, we say, our forgiving nature has to come to an end somewhere. "