He Got Life. Why?
Recently a court in Kerala awarded death penalty for Greeshma who killed her boyfriend by poisoning. Couple of days before that a court in Bengal had given life imprisonment to Sanjay Roy, for brutal rape and murder of a young doctor at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata.
This has got some people to question why Sanjay Roy doesn’t deserve the harshet punishment too.
Capital punishment is only applicable in rarest of rate cases and Supreme Court has defined the criteria. In RG Kar case court held it was not a rarest of rare crime whereas the opposite was held for Greeshma because of repeat attempts and refusal to cooperate when the victim Sharon was in hospital for 11 days.
If you read the SC criteria for determining the rarest of rare, you will realise it is a very subjective application and let’s hope the higher courts will arrive at a more consistent sentence.
Supreme Court’s Key Principles of “Rarest of Rare”:
Balancing Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances:
Aggravating factors include the brutality of the crime, the manner of execution, and the impact on society.
Mitigating factors include the offender’s age, mental condition, background, lack of prior criminal record, and the possibility of rehabilitation.
Circumstances of the Crime:
The crime must involve extreme depravity, cruelty, or an extraordinary degree of violence.
It should be committed in a manner that is grossly disproportionate to ordinary human behavior.
Irreparable Impact:
The crime must leave an indelible impact on the victim’s family, society, and moral fabric.
No Scope for Reform:
If there is a possibility that the offender can be reformed or rehabilitated, the death penalty should not be imposed.
