Context: A sessions court in Kolkata has sentenced the convict of the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to life imprisonment. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had argued strongly for the death penalty, but the court granted life imprisonment. In the RG Kar case, the convict Sanjoy Roy is 35 years old.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about legal framework related to Death Penalty in India.
Death Penalty in India
- The Supreme Court has ruled that a sentence of death should be passed only in the rarest of rare cases, after the court has taken into account possible aggravating and mitigating circumstances (Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, 1980).
Rarest of Rare Test:
- In the Bachan Singh case, the SC upheld the death penalty but emphasised that it should be imposed only in the rarest of rare cases, where there is no possibility of reformation.
- SC laid down non-exhaustive lists of aggravating and mitigating circumstances for courts to consider while making the decision.
Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances:
Aggravating Circumstances: Factors which could tilt decision towards death penalty:
- If the murder is pre-planned, calculated, and involves extreme brutality
- If the murder involves exceptional depravity
- If the accused has been found guilty of murdering a public servant, police officer or a member of the armed forces while discharging their duty.
- Mitigating Circumstances: Factors which could tilt decision away from death penalty:
- If the accused was under extreme mental or emotional disturbance at the time of the offence.
- Age of the accused (would not be given death sentence if they are very young or very old)
- Probability of the accused posing a continued threat to society
- Probability of reforming the accused
- If the accused was acting on the directions of another person
- If the accused believed their actions were morally justified
- If the accused suffers mentally and is unable to appreciate the criminality of their actions.
Interpretations of circumstances by the Supreme Court
1. Age of the Accused:
- In some cases (E.g., Ramesh v. State of Rajasthan 2011), the Supreme Court considered the young age of the accused persons (below 30 in these cases) as an indication that they could be reformed.
- Law Commission of India noted in its 262nd Report (2015) that in the cases of Death Penalty, the courts have used age as a mitigating factor very inconsistently.
2. Nature of Offence:
- In the Shankar Khade case 2013, the SC emphasised the courts should compare the case before them with cases concerning similar offences to determine the punishment. This is to avoid subjectivity in the rarest of rare doctrine.
- In Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab case 1983, the SC held that death could be given in cases where the “collective conscience” of society is so shocked that the judiciary is expected to impose the death penalty.
3. Possibility of Reform:
- In the Bachan Singh case 1980, the SC held that the government must prove there is no possibility of reform.
- In Santosh Bariyar v. State of Maharashtra case 2009, the SC said that the court will have to provide clear evidence as to why the convict is not fit for any kind of reformatory and rehabilitation scheme.
- The Law Commission Report said the requirement for evidence is essential for introducing an element of objectivity into the sentencing process.
When should the Court consider these Circumstances?
- In the Bachan Singh case, the SC said courts must conduct a separate trial after convicting, so that judges can be persuaded why the death sentence should not be imposed (ensure fair trial).
- In Dattaraya v. State of Maharashtra (2020), the court held that if such a hearing did not take place that was a valid reason to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment.