Ambika bhardwaj
Published On: January 19, 2022 at 16:20 IST
On Tuesday, Supreme Court showed concern about the “troubling tendency” of Trial Courts to rush through Cases involving Rape and Murder Charges, as it commuted the Death Sentence of a man Convicted of Raping and killing an 11-year-old girl to 30 years in Prison.
A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao that comprised of Justices B.R. Gavai and B.V. Nagarathna issued the following ruling-
“The Appellant was not given a fair chance to Defend himself which is a travesty of Justice. This is a classic Case demonstrating the troubling trend of Trial Courts deciding Criminal Cases that include Rape and Murder in a hurry. It is widely acknowledged that an Accused has the Right to a Fair Trial as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.”
Justice Rao observed that the Trial Court issued the Order of Conviction and Sentence on the same day and further stated that the true intent of Section 235 (2) Code of Criminal Procedure is to provide an opportunity for the Accused to make a representation against the Sentence that will be imposed on him. To give an effective opportunity to the Accused, a bifurcated hearing for Convicting and Sentencing is required.
The Bench also stated that the Trial Court must provide the Accused with a sufficient opportunity to produce relevant information on the issue of Death Sentence.
The Judgement was made in response to an Appeal filed by Bhagwani.