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In a case of Preeti Rathi, The Bombay High Court commuted the death penalty awarded to convict Ankur Panwar by lower court into life imprisonment.
In this case trial court awarded death penalty for the very first time for offence of acid attack. While hearing the petition Bombay High Court upheld Panwar's conviction but instead of death penalty awarded by trial court commuted it to a sentence of life imprisonment.
Justices BP Dharmadhikari and PD Mail partly allowed the appeal filed by Panwar challenging the death penalty awarded to him by special court in 2016.
BRIEF FACTS:
Preeti Rathi, a 23- year old girl, who shifted from Delhi to Mumbai to join a job at post of nurse at INS Mumbai in Colaba, alighted at Bandra Terminus from Garib Rath express along with her father, uncle and aunt. When she was getting down, an unidentified youth flung sulphuric acid at her on May 2, 2013. During investigation police identified Panwar as accused. Victim of acid attack resisted for one month at Bombay Hospital and took her last breath on 1st June.
As per verdict given by special women's Court judge A S Shende on September 8 2016 held Ankur Panwar guilty of offences under section 302 (murder) 326 A and 326 B (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid etc) of Indian penal code and this was the first time where court also awarded a death sentence in an acid attack case.
JUDGEMENT:
A 69 Page Judgment was given by Bombay High Court confirming onwards conviction for the crime where as the Trial Court Order was modified by setting aside the sentence of Death Penalty awarded to the convict under Section 302 of IPC.
The Bombay Court is of the view that the present case does not fit in the category of “rarest of the rare” and the trial court while deciding the case did not apply its mind to the factors enumerated in Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab and other relevant cases. It is clearly mentioned that the death penalty should be served only in the “rarest of the rarest cases” and not otherwise and hence Bombay High Court completed the death penalty to life imprisonment in the present case as it is not the rarest of the rare.
The factors laid in Bachan Singh case for awarding death penalty includes whether the offence was committed under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance the age of accused the probability that the accused would not commit criminal acts of such violence as would constitute a continuing threat to the society and probability that the accused can be reformed rehabilitated.
It was pointed out by the High Court that the trial court failed to relate the criminal test as laid down in several decisions and only relied on collective consensus and crime test to be hold in the case that fall under the category of rarest of the rare. Further the court also found that the mitigating factor laid down in Bachan Singh would apply in this case therefore it was not an appropriate case to give that penalty. The order was stated in following words,
"The accused was young boy age 23 years at the time of commission office there is no past criminal record there was nothing to indicate that the accused was beyond reformation and rehabilitation as amended in the case of Bachan Singh and other cases."
Taking into consideration the same the court set aside the death penalty and commuted the same to life imprisonment.
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