Odisha HC commutes death penalty in triple murder case

CUTTACK: The Odisha High Court on Wednesday commuted death sentence of one Nabin Dehury to imprisonment for life till his natural death without remission or commutation. Nabin was convicted in the triple murder case in which Pirobati Behera was killed along with her daughter Sabitri Sahu and son-in-law Giridhari Sahu at village Lapada under Mahulpali police station in Sambalpur district on October 21, 2020. However, the division bench of Justice SK Sahoo and Justice Chittaranjan Dash said, “We are of the view that public opinion or the society’s expectation may be to confirm the death sentence of appellant Nabin Dehury since it is a case of triple murder and two deceased were ladies, but it must be remembered that such opinion or expectation is neither an objective circumstance relating to crime, nor the criminal, and therefore, this court must exercise judicial restraint and play a balancing role.” The appellant comes from a rural and economically poor background and on account of property dispute and after losing the ancestral property in the court battle, he had done away with the lives of three deceased. The bench also directed for payment of compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the minor son and daughter of deceased Giridhar Sahu and Sabitri Sahu, Rs 5 lakh to daughter of deceased Pirobati Behera and Rs 2.5 lakh each to her grandchildren through Odisha Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018.