New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) A court here on Tuesday sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment three people, including two brothers who had killed their two sisters in 2010 after they eloped, saying their crime did not fell in the rarest of rare category and there was a possibility of rehabilitation of the perpetrators.
Additional Sessions Judge Babru Bhan sentenced Ankit Chaudhary and Mandeep Nagar, brothers of Shobha and Monika, for their honour killing, and slaying Kuldeep, who got married to Monika. Nakul Khari, an accomplice, was also sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment.
According to the prosecution, Ankit Chaudhary, Mandeep Nagar and their associate Khari were involved in shooting the three victims.
The court had convicted the accused in September this year, saying the prosecution had been able to successfully prove the offences of criminal conspiracy and murder. The court convicted Rakesh, the fourth accused, for the offence of harbouring an offender.
The court noted the aggravating circumstances against the accused was the magnitude of the crime, where the accused murdered in cold blood three young innocent people.
“The murders were committed by the accused persons under the impression that they were protecting the family and community and three murders were committed in quick succession within about one hour. This conduct indicates that the accused persons were neither disturbed nor remorseful after committing the first murder,” the court said.
The fact that Chaudhary and Nagar were brothers of deceased Monika and Shobha was another aggravating circumstance, it said.
The court, however, also noted the mitigating circumstances and said the death penalty can be imposed in extreme cases, where there is no possibility of reformation of the accused.
“For imposition of the capital punishment, it has to be established by the prosecution that the case qualifies the category of “rarest of rare” case….In simple words, for imposing death punishment, a case must fall in the highest category of rareness,” it said.
The court said at the time of the offence, the trio was in their early youth, had clean antecedents and were well-rooted in the society. Besides, they have remained in judicial custody for around 14 years, the court said.
“After balancing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, if the court comes to the conclusion that there is a possibility of rehabilitation of the accused, the death sentence is not justified,” it said.
Underlining that it was not a fit case for imposition of the death penalty, the court sentenced the trio to rigorous life imprisonment for the offences under Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder) and 120 B (crimnal conspiracy). Chaudhary and Nagar were also sentenced to five years imprisonment under the Arms Act. The sentences will run concurrently.
Rakesh was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment under IPC section 216 (harbouring offender). PTI MNR MNR SK SK
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