New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday said there is an urgent need to ensure that the mitigating circumstances for conviction of offences that carry the possibility of death sentence are considered at the trial stage.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice U U Lalit said the trial court must elicit information from the accused and the state before conviction.
The top court said for an offence carrying capital punishment, the state must, at an appropriate stage, produce material that is preferably collected beforehand, before the Sessions Court disclosing the psychiatric and psychological evaluation of the accused.
In criminal law, mitigating circumstances are factors that help lessen the guilt of an offender and encourage the judge to be more lenient with the sentencing.
“There is an urgent need to ensure that mitigating circumstances are considered at the trial stage, to avoid slipping into a retributive response to the brutality of the crime, as is noticeably the situation in a majority of cases reaching the appellate stage,” the bench, also comprising justices S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi, said.
The apex court said the state must, in a time-bound manner, collect additional information like age, early family background (siblings, protection of parents, any history of violence or neglect), present family background, type and level of education etc. pertaining to the accused.
“This information should mandatorily be available to the trial court at the sentencing stage. The accused too should be given the same opportunity to produce evidence in rebuttal towards establishing all mitigating circumstances.
“Lastly, information regarding the accused’s jail conduct and behaviour, work done (if any), activities the accused has involved himself in, and other related details should be called for in the form of a report from the relevant jail authorities — probation and welfare officer, superintendent of jail etc.,” the bench said.
The top court directed that this should be implemented uniformly for conviction of offences that carry the possibility of death sentence.
The observations came while commuting the death sentence awarded to three people in a murder case.
“This court is of the opinion that there can be no doubt that the crime committed by the three accused was brutal and grotesque…. It is unfortunate to note that both the trial court and the high court failed to provide an effective sentencing hearing to the accused at the relevant stage…. The crime that the appellants have been held guilty of is heinous, its execution was vicious and cruel by any stretch of imagination.
“In view of the totality of facts and circumstances, and for the above stated reasons, this court finds that imposition of a death sentence would be unwarranted in the present case. It would be appropriate and in the overall interests of justice to commute the death sentence of all three accused to life imprisonment for a minimum term of 25 years,” the bench said. PTI PKS RC
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