If Prosecution Proposes Death Sentence, It Must Produce Before Trial Court Information About Background Of Accused : Supreme Court
1 year, 8 months ago

If Prosecution Proposes Death Sentence, It Must Produce Before Trial Court Information About Background Of Accused : Supreme Court

Live Law  

In a notable judgment, the Supreme Court has held that in cases where the offences are so heinous that death sentence is warranted, the prosecution must produce before the trial court all materials which are relevant to assess the mitigating circumstances favouring the accused. Trial Courts cannot impose fixed term sentences The Supreme Court also reiterated that the trial court has no jurisdiction to sentence the accused to life imprisonment for the remainder of their life, or life imprisonment without entitlement to remission for a fixed term, in serious crimes which carry the death penalty apart from life sentence as a sentencing option. The court took note that the top court in Union of India vs Sriharan @ Murugan & Ors., 14 SCR 613, has approved a special category of sentence for serious crimes where death sentence is substituted with life imprisonment for a fixed number of years- which may be longer than the minimum sentence specified in Section 433A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and may extend to considerably long periods, such as 30 years. Realising that a life sentence per se can lead to early release of accused upon their undergoing the minimum sentence prescribed under Section 433A, and highlighting that the asymmetry in state rules with respect to minimum incarceration in different kinds of life sentences, this court decided to retain to itself the option of imposing what Sriharan termed as “special” or “fixed term sentences”.” The court added: “It is hence clear that the trial courts, are foreclosed from imposing such a modified or specific term sentence, or life imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s life, as an alternative to death penalty. Indian Penal Code, 1860- The Supreme Court has ruled that the trial court has no jurisdiction to sentence the accused to life imprisonment for the remainder of their life, or life imprisonment without entitlement to remission for a fixed term, in serious crimes which carry the death penalty apart from life sentence as a sentencing option-The court took note that the Apex Court in Union of India vs Sriharan @ Murugan & Ors., 14 SCR 613, has approved a special category of sentence for serious crimes where death sentence is substituted with life imprisonment for a fixed number of years- which may be longer than the minimum sentence specified in Section 433A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and may extend to considerably long periods, such as 30 years.

Death Supreme Court Death Penalty Trial Court Prosecution State Accused Manoj Supreme 30 Years Life Sentence Death Sentence Trial Courts Union Of India Fixed Life Imprisonment Sriharan Serious Crimes Vikas Chaudhary Fixed Term Sentences Term Sentence Section 433A 14 Scr Capital Sentence  state  prosecution  court  term  sentence  trial  information  death  fixed  life  imprisonment  proposes  supreme  accused  produce  background

History of this topic

State Must Not Defeat Purpose Of Death Sentence By Showing Laxity In Implementation: Supreme Court
1 week, 6 days ago

State Must Not Defeat Purpose Of Death Sentence By Showing Laxity In Implementation: Supreme Court

Live Law  

The Supreme Court while upholding the commutation of death sentences of two convicts highlighted several instances of administrative and judicial delays in the processing of mercy petitions and issuance of death warrants, which ultimately led to the commutation of sentence. A bench of Justices Abhay Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih observed a delay of over three years by …

Rape-cum-murder case: SC stays execution of death sentence awarded to convict
5 months ago

Rape-cum-murder case: SC stays execution of death sentence awarded to convict

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the death sentence awarded to a man convicted for raping and murdering a 30-year-old law student in Kerala in 2016. A bench headed by Justice B R Gavai passed the order while hearing the convict's plea challenging the Kerala High Court's May 20 verdict that upheld his conviction and confirmed …

Supreme Court Stays Execution Of Death Penalty Given To Man For Rape-Murder Of Law Student In Kerala
5 months ago

Supreme Court Stays Execution Of Death Penalty Given To Man For Rape-Murder Of Law Student In Kerala

Live Law  

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the execution of the death sentence given to Muhammed Ameer-Ul Islam, a migrant labourer from Assam, for committing the rape and murder of a law student in Perumbavoor on April 28, 2016.A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Sanjay Karol and KV Viswanathan, considering the appeal filed by the convict against the Kerala High Court's. …

Created Fear & Vulnerability Amongst Women, Had Profound Impact On Society: Kerala High Court Confirms Death Sentence Of Man Convicted Of Brutal Rape-Murder
7 months ago

Created Fear & Vulnerability Amongst Women, Had Profound Impact On Society: Kerala High Court Confirms Death Sentence Of Man Convicted Of Brutal Rape-Murder

Live Law  

The Kerala High Court today confirmed the death sentence imposed upon Muhammed Ameer-Ul Islam, a migrant labourer from Assam for committing the rape and murder of a law student in Perumbavoor on April 28, 2016. It said, “The Court stated that the brutality committed by the accused on the body of the victim to cause her death can only be …

Orissa High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of Need For Background Analysis Of Convicts In Death Penalty Cases
7 months, 3 weeks ago

Orissa High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognizance Of Need For Background Analysis Of Convicts In Death Penalty Cases

Live Law  

The Orissa High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of need for background analysis of the convicts, so as to ascertain mitigating circumstances in their favour, before imposing the extreme sentence of death. Emphasizing the importance of providing real and effective hearing on the question of sentence, the Division Bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice Radha Krishna Pattanaik …

Capital term review, mitigation probe of death row convicts
1 year, 7 months ago

Capital term review, mitigation probe of death row convicts

New Indian Express  

The order is significant as it revisits, once again, the often ignored aspect of death penalty jurisprudence. Sure, the two prisoners who are serving death sentences have committed heinous crimes: one involves a techie convicted for murdering his female friend’s three-year-old daughter and mother-in-law and injuring her husband at Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram in 2014, while the second convict is a …

Rarest Of Rare Doctrine Requires Death Sentence Be Imposed Only If There Is No Possibility Of Reformation : Supreme Court
1 year, 9 months ago

Rarest Of Rare Doctrine Requires Death Sentence Be Imposed Only If There Is No Possibility Of Reformation : Supreme Court

Live Law  

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, commuted the death sentence awarded for kidnapping and murder of a 7 year old child to life imprisonment for not less than twenty years without remission of sentence. Considering that the present case is one of death sentence, the Court thought it fit to consider the review petition without relying on the electronic evidence which …

DC Edit | SC move to set guidelines on death penalty welcome
2 years, 3 months ago

DC Edit | SC move to set guidelines on death penalty welcome

Deccan Chronicle  

The decision of the Supreme Court to set up a Constitution Bench to lay down guidelines for the courts on providing a convict a real and meaningful hearing before deciding on a death penalty is a refreshing step that will further civilise the criminal justice delivery system in our country. The only protection a person can have against incarceration or …

Death Penalty: SC Refers to 5-judge Bench Case on Framing Guidelines on Mitigating Circumstances
2 years, 3 months ago

Death Penalty: SC Refers to 5-judge Bench Case on Framing Guidelines on Mitigating Circumstances

News 18  

The Supreme Court on Monday referred to a five-judge Constitution bench a suo motu plea on framing of guidelines on how and when potential mitigating circumstances be considered by courts during trial in cases which entail the death penalty as the maximum punishment. A bench headed by Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit said it was of the opinion that this …

"Will Create A Lot Of Complications": Supreme Court Refuses To Issue Guidelines On Compensation For Victims Of Wrongful Prosecution
2 years, 4 months ago

"Will Create A Lot Of Complications": Supreme Court Refuses To Issue Guidelines On Compensation For Victims Of Wrongful Prosecution

Live Law  

"This will create a lot of complications", the Supreme Court of India orally observed on Thursday, while considering petitions filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay and BJP leader Kapil Mishra seeking a uniform compensation code for victims of wrongful prosecution. In cases of POCSO, or domestic violence, all acquitted will allege wrongful persecution", the Bench asserted, Then, the Bench said, "for …

The challenge of reforming death penalty sentencing
2 years, 6 months ago

The challenge of reforming death penalty sentencing

The Hindu  

There has been an intense and persistent crisis in the fairness of administering the death penalty in India for many decades now that has been acknowledged in judgments of the Supreme Court of India, by former judges, lawyers, researchers, etc. Individualised sentencing The constitutionality of the death penalty was upheld in 1980 in Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab, which …

Supreme Court Allows Project 39A-NLUD To Interview Death Row Convict For Report On Character & Behaviour To Analyse Mitigating Circumstances
2 years, 6 months ago

Supreme Court Allows Project 39A-NLUD To Interview Death Row Convict For Report On Character & Behaviour To Analyse Mitigating Circumstances

Live Law  

The Supreme Court recently allowed the prayer of a death row convict to have an interview with a mitigating investigator associated with Project 39A of National Law University Delhi to submit a report regarding mitigating circumstances.The Court opined that it would be essential to have the particulars regarding the character and behaviour of accused, on record, in death penalty matters …

Supreme Court Criminal Digest -April 2022
2 years, 7 months ago

Supreme Court Criminal Digest -April 2022

Live Law  

Arms Act, 1950; Section 27 - Supreme Court Patna High Court judgment which modified the judgment passed by the Trial Court convicting the appellants- accused under Section 307 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code to Section 324 IPC and confirming their conviction under Section 27 of the Arms Act. Mohd Firoz v. State of Madhya Pradesh, 2022 LiveLaw 390 …

A new track for capital punishment jurisprudence
2 years, 7 months ago

A new track for capital punishment jurisprudence

The Hindu  

A recent trend in the evolution of jurisprudence around the death penalty in India may reset judicial thinking around sentencing and have long-term ramifications in the awarding of capital punishment. The Court has also initiated a suo motu writ petition to delve deep into these issues on key aspects surrounding our understanding of death penalty sentencing. Building on this, the …

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