Brutal, But Doesn’t Warrant Death Sentence: SC Commutes Death Penalty Of A Man Who Was Convicted For Murdering 3 Kids [Read Judgment]

‘The offence has undoubtedly been committed which can be said to be brutal but does not warrant death sentence.’

 The Supreme Court has commuted death sentence imposed on a man convicted in a triple murder case, in which the victims were minor children.

The bench comprising of Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar and Justice M.R. Shah observed that though the offence has undoubtedly been committed which can be said to be brutal but it does not warrant death sentence.

Vijaykumar was found guilty of murdering three minor children of Jia Lal and Kamlesh Kumari and the motive was that he was upset with their non-involvement in his matrimonial issue with Kamlesh's sister. Jia Lal had four children and only one survived his attack. Jia Lal and his wife also suffered serious injuries.

While confirming his death penalty, the division bench of the high court had observed: "The crime committed by him is horrendous and it would be too much to expect any amount of reformation on the part of the accused. Accurate punishment must depend upon inhuman role of the accused, the way crime is designed and the unprotected state of victims. This is how the court should respond to the society cry for justice."      

The apex court confirmed the conviction, but on the aspect of awarding death sentence, it said: “It is required to be noted that the accused, as such, is not a previous convict or a professional killer. There was a matrimonial dispute and the accused was of the opinion that Jia Lal and his wife Kamlesh Kumari refused to extend any helping hand to the accused for bringing his wife back. From the material on record, it appears that, that was the motive for the accused to commit the offence and eliminate the family of Jia Lal. Jia Lal was the co-brother and Kamlesh Kumari was the sister-in-law. As has been born out from the record, they were the persons who were instrumental in arranging the marital ties of the accused.”

The bench said it would be in the interest of justice to convert the death sentence into life sentence till the death of the accused and without remission.

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