'Shocked Conscience Of Society': Punjab & Haryana HC Upholds Death Penalty For Man Who Killed Wife, Kids & Sister-In-Law

Observing that the case has "shocked the collective conscience of the society", the Punjab & Haryana High Court has confirmed the death penalty for a man who was convicted of murdering his wife, two minor children, and sister-in-law, over a dispute of merely Rs.35,000 in Punjab's Phagwara.

Calling it a "rarest of the rare case", a division bench of Acting Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji said, "the appellant had committed the murder of his wife for whom it was her second marriage and his children. In the absence of any residuary doubt and the brutality in which he had done his children to death, there is apparently no mitigating circumstance in his favour."

The Court noted that the convict Baljinder Kumar, murdered his family and sister-in-law while they were asleep in the wee hours. "The manner in which two children of the appellant himself were done to death alongwith his wife and sister-in-law cannot be said to be a crime which was done in the heat of passion, but was pre-planned," it said.

"The brutality of the incident is thus one which we would describe as a diabolic act whereby the conscience of the society as a whole has been shocked. The deceased were done to death in the safety of their own house and in such circumstances we do not find any mitigating reasons for not to confirm the death reference, as it falls within the category of rarest of rare cases," addedthe bench.

The Court rejected the contention raised by Kumar's counsel that he was only 28 years old when the charge was framed almost a decade earlier and, therefore, in the absence of any criminal antecedents which was a mitigating fact, and keeping in view the fact he belonged to a marginalized section of the society, the sentence should be modified.

In response, the Court said that it was the duty of the appellant to protect his family and not to kill them.

Kumar killed his wife Seema Rani, his kids 3-year-old Suman Kumari and 2-year-old Harsh, sister-in-law Reena Rani with a Gandasi and injured two others from his in-laws' family in November 2013 in Phagwara.

The dispute arose after his mother-in-law failed to pay a sum of Rs.35,000 since she had arranged the marriage of his sister with one Haria, but the marriage had not worked out and Kaur was instrumental in not ensuring the re-payment of the money to the accused.

The wife of the accused along with the children had left the matrimonial house and come to her parents' house due to which Kumar was nourishing a grudge, it was submitted.

The Trial Court convicted Kumar and sentenced him to death in 2020 because of the nature of the injuries on the persons of the deceased and noting that since the injuries were all inflicted on the head and vital parts of the body while they were sleeping in the early morning hours, there was only the intention to brutally kill them.

Kumar's counsel contended that the chain of circumstance based on circumstantial evidence is not complete. He further submitted that it has been almost 10 years since the appellant was in custody and also had an amputation of his left arm.

Therefore, keeping in view the fact that the charge was framed against him in 2014 and he was only 28 years old at that point in time, the counsel prayed for a lenient view on the grounds that it is not a rarest of rare case.

After considering the submission, the Court opined that the argument raised that this is a case of circumstantial evidence and chain of circumstances was not complete, is liable to be rejected because of the categorical statement of the eyewitnesses and the motive with which the injuries were inflicted upon the deceased.

It relied on the testimony of a 5-year-old child witness and said that there was no plausible reason to reject the same in the absence of any reason or suggestion that the child had been tutored in any manner to depose against his uncle.

The Court noted that, "The crime was committed when the helpless women and children were half asleep in their own house and the motive is merely regarding return of Rs.35,000/-, on account of the fall out of the marriage of the sister of the accused."

Adding that Manjit Kaur (mother-in-law of convict) survived the attack only because she was not in the same room where four persons were stabbed to death, the Court concluded that, in such circumstances, it is a rarest of rare case.

Resultantly, the Court confirmed the sentence of death under Section 368 Cr.P.C. and directed that the order of confirmation be sent to the Court of Sessions.

Title: State of Punjab v. Baljinder Kumar @ Kala

2024 LiveLaw (PH) 71

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