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In the case of State of Bihar vs. Alakh Deo Kumar, the High Court of Patna acquitted a person on death row for murder charges. The accused was convicted by the lower court for murdering a woman and her children due to certain property disputes that arose between them. The lower court observed that in this particular case the aggravating circumstances are more than the mitigating circumstances; this level of cruelty exhibited by the accused was provoked by the greed for wealth. The court of sessions also looked into the principle of rarest of rare test and stated that this principle is largely based on the perception of society. The factors such as abhorrence, extreme indignation, and antipathy to some instances ought to be considered stated in the court. Further, the court also wanted to send a strong deterrent message to the perpetrators of such crimes, since crimes against women are on a rampant increase. Thus, inter alia, in light of these observations Court of Session sentenced the death penalty to the accused.
But the High Court of Patna on careful perusal of the facts and circumstance of the case observed that the trial court had reasoned the death sentencing on the diabolic nature of the crime and motive for the crime on the basis of which the punishment of death was awarded. It was noted that the trial court also failed to acknowledge essential mitigating circumstances such as socio-economic conditions, lack of criminal antecedent, etc. However, the High court believed that presumption of innocence still existed in this case. The HC observed that the whole findings on the motive of the accused as a result of statements of interested witnesses and the fact that the aggravating factors against him are neither proved nor alleged were noted. Therefore the court stated that this reflected the paternalistic attitude of society towards women, who are always considered helpless victims and the court must be mindful of this. Especially in the cases where evidence is purely circumstantial and judicial approach on the death penalty ought to be cautious as this decision is permanent and irreversible. It was also stated that the lower courts were swayed away by the fact that the victims were women thereby meriting greater punishment for the crime. In light of which the HC commented that Courts are not oracles of public opinion and the role of the courts is not to soothe public sentiment. Therefore after careful analysis, the HC of Patna acquitted the accused from the charges under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code.
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