Mumbai, Nov 25: The Bombay High Court on Thursday commuted to life imprisonment the death penalty awarded to three convicts in the 2013 gangrape case of a 22-year-old photojournalist inside the defunct Shakti Mills compound in central Mumbai, saying that they "deserve imprisonment for life to repent the offence committed by them as death puts an end to the concept of repentance".
A division bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Prithviraj Chavan refused to confirm the death penalty awarded to Vijay Jadhav, Mohammad Qasim Shaikh and Mohammad Ansari, and commuted their sentence to life imprisonment for the remainder of their lives.
It, however, said that the convicts shall not be entitled for release on furlough or parole as they cannot be allowed to assimilate in the society and as there is no scope for reformation.
At the time of the incident in 2013, Jadhav was 19 years old, Qasim Shaikh was 21 and Ansari was 28.
The bench, while pronouncing its order said that it cannot ignore the fact that the offence has shocked the collective conscience of the society and rape is a violation of human rights, but the sentence of death is irrevocable.
"A rape victim suffers not just physically but mentally as well. It is a violation of human rights. But only public outcry cannot be taken into account. Judgment should not be guided by public outcry or public opinion," the court said.
It added that courts have a duty to consider cases dispassionately and cannot ignore the procedure laid down by the law.
"Death puts an end to the concept of repentance. It cannot be said that the accused deserved only death penalty. They deserve imprisonment for life to repent the offence committed by them," the bench said.
"The convicts deserve life imprisonment for the remainder of their natural life. They cannot assimilate in society as they look upon women as an object," the court said.
Quoting poet Khalil Gibran in the judgement, the high court said, "And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds? Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain serve? Yet you cannot lay remorse upon the innocent nor lift it from the heart of the guilty."
Advocate Yug Chaudhry, appearing for the convicts, had argued that the death sentence had been handed out incorrectly and that the trial had not been conducted fairly.
The state government had argued that the death penalty was justified as it was a deterrent order.
In March 2104, the trial court had convicted four persons for gangraping a 22-year-old photo-journalist inside the abandoned Shakti Mills compound in central Mumbai on August 22, 2013.
The court had then imposed death penalty on three of the convicts - Jadhav , Bengali and Ansari - as they were also convicted for gang-raping a 19-year-old telephone operator at the same place months before raping the photojournalist.
The trio was awarded death penalty under the amended section 376 (e) of the IPC, which says maximum sentence of life or death can be awarded to repeat offenders.
The fourth convict, Siraj Khan, was sentenced to life imprisonment, and a minor accused was sent to a correctional facility.
In April 2014, the trio had approached the high court challenging the validity of section 376 (e) of IPC and contended that the sessions court acted beyond its power in awarding them the death penalty.
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Mumbai, Mar 29: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday asked the BJP to apologise to former prime minister Manmohan Singh after the CBI filed a closure report in its Air India-Indian Airlines merger case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a closure report in its probe into the alleged irregularities in the leasing of aircraft by NACIL, a company formed by the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines during the UPA era, as there was no "evidence of any wrongdoing", officials said Thursday.
NCP leader Praful Patel, who now belongs to the outfit headed by Ajit Pawar, was the Union civil aviation minister in the earlier Congress-led United Progress Alliance (UPA) government when the leasing was done.
Talking to reporters, Raut said the BJP had made a hue and cry over alleged corruption in the civil aviation sector during Manmohan Singh's tenure as PM.
"The BJP must apologise to Dr Singh," he said.
The National Aviation Corporation of India Limited (NACIL) was formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.
The CBI has alleged that the decision was made "dishonestly", and the aircraft were leased even while an acquisition programme was going on.
The leasing decision was taken "in conspiracy with other unknown persons on extraneous considerations" that resulted in "pecuniary benefit" to private companies and consequent "loss to the government exchequer," the CBI had alleged in its FIR.
About the reported discord among MVA partners ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Raut said there is no dispute among the allies over seat sharing.
The opposition grouping MVA comprises the Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
"On April 3, a press conference of MVA leaders will be held at Shivalaya, the Sena (UBT) office. Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Congress leaders Nana Patole, Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat will be present," he said.
Raut also said that Thackeray will also attend the opposition INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on March 31, organised to "safeguard the country's interests and democracy".
The opposition parties announced the rally last week following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an excise policy-linked money-laundering case.