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Justice Datta Questions Leniency in Death Sentence Commutations
The Supreme Court was hearing a request to release a person serving a life sentence early.
That person’s death sentence had earlier been changed to life imprisonment.
Justice Dipankar Datta said courts may be too forgiving when they change death sentences to life sentences.
He said this kind of leniency was contributing to crime and that there should be a limit.
To explain his concern, he described a father who killed his elder daughter and later murdered his wife.
The father had received a death sentence for the later murder, but the Supreme Court changed it to life imprisonment.
Justice Datta said this happened because the father had not killed the younger child.
His comments were made orally during the hearing.
A Supreme Court bench heard a plea for premature release of a life convict whose death sentence had been commuted.
Justice Dipankar Datta said the court’s forgiving approach to commutation was contributing to crime in India.
He said the court must “draw a line somewhere” and noted that approaches to murder convictions had changed.
Justice Datta cited a case in which a father convicted of killing his elder daughter later murdered his wife.
He said the father’s death sentence for the later murder was commuted to life imprisonment because he had not killed the younger child.
- Who
- Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu; the plea concerns a life convict.
- What
- The bench heard a plea for premature release, while Justice Datta questioned the court’s approach to commuting death sentences.
- Where
- Supreme Court of India, New Delhi.
- When
- Thursday, October 8; the reports do not specify the year.
- Why
- The plea sought premature release of a life convict; Justice Datta raised concerns that leniency in commutation was contributing to crime.
Key facts
- Court
- Supreme Court of India
- Bench
- Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu
- Hearing
- A plea for premature release of a life convict
- Convict’s sentence
- Death sentence commuted to life imprisonment
- Datta’s stated concern
- He said leniency in commutation was contributing to crime and that a limit must be drawn.
- Example cited
- A father who murdered his wife after an earlier conviction for killing his elder daughter
Quotes
Justice Dipankar Datta
Supreme Court justice speaking during the hearing.
“The father goes to jail on life imprisonment on the basis of the mother's testimony. After some years, the father comes out on parole and murders the mother in front of his younger daughter. On the younger daughter's testimony, he is given death sentence. And then death sentence is commuted to life sentence by the Supreme Court on the ground that he did not murder the younger child. That is why we say, our forgiving nature has to come to an end somewhere.”
telegraphindia.com
“It is because of our forgiving nature, that India is facing these problems. Forgive, forgive, forgive, you have to draw a line somewhere.”
telegraphindia.com
theprint.in
Sources
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