Calcutta HC Commutes Death Penalty Of Eight Murder Accused [Read Judgment]

We find that the case under reference is simply a case of retaliation and in that view of this case, we are not in a position to accept the case as one of rarest of rare cases, the bench observed.

The Calcutta High Court has commuted death penalty awarded to eight persons accused in a kidnap-cum-murder case and also acquitted two accused.

The bench comprising Justice Nadira Patherya and Justice Debi Prosad Dey upheld the conviction of six persons and sentenced them to rigorous life imprisonment.

The case pertains to the murder of one Sourav Chowdhury. The trial court had convicted and sentenced eight accused to death. The case of the prosecution was that after commission of such murder, the dead body of Sourav Chowdhury was kept on the railway line in order to conceal such offence and to project a police case to the effect that Sourav Chowdhury died of railway accident. The dead body was separated in various parts since the dead body was cut into pieces by the movement of railways on such railway track.

The bench, though upheld conviction of all the accused, except two, answered the death reference in negative by observing thus: “On scrutiny of the materials on record we find that the case under reference is simply a case of retaliation and in that view of this case, we are not in a position to accept the case as one of rarest of rare cases. Admittedly, we answer the death reference in negative.”

The high court also held that one of the convicts, Shyamal Karmakar shall not be released from custody till the completion of his 30-year imprisonment towards the sentence of life imprisonment. The said convict had abused the trial court on the date of delivery of judgment saying that court would not do anything to him though he had committed such an offence.