Supreme Court Sets Aside Death Sentence Of Watchman Convicted For Dacoity And Murder

A bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice PK Mishra, and Justice KV Vishwanathan set aside the death penalty imposed by the Bombay High Court in 2022.

“The learned Trial Judge upon consideration of the material placed on record had come to a considered conclusion that the present case does not fit in the category of the 'rarest of rare' cases. Therefore, unless the finding recorded by the learned Trial Judge was found to be perverse or impossible, the High Court ought not to have interfered with the same”, the Court held.

The watchman Shiv Kumar Saket was convicted of the brutal murder of businessman Ramesh Munot and his wife, Chitra, at their residence in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, in 2007. Saket, along with two of his friends and three former employees of the Munots, executed a planned robbery and murder.

While the trial court initially sentenced all six convicts to life imprisonment, the Bombay HC later enhanced Saket's punishment to a death sentence, citing betrayal of trust as an aggravating factor.

The Supreme Court, however, disagreed with the High Court's decision. While the Supreme Court upheld the conviction, it set aside the death penalty and restored the trial court's sentence of life imprisonment. The Court noted that the High Court had not recorded a finding that the trial court's observation that the case did not fall under the category of the “rarest of rare” cases was perverse.

The Supreme Court further noted that the role played by Saket was similar to the other accused involved in the crime. Therefore, he could not have been singled out for a separate, harsher punishment.

The Bombay HC had awarded Saket the death penalty in an appeal from the Maharashtra government, which sought to enhance his punishment. The HC found that Saket, being a day watchman employed by the Munots, had betrayed the trust placed in him by the couple, setting him apart from the other convicts. The HC had described the murders as “calculated and cold-blooded,” and held that the crime fell into the rarest of rare category.

On the night of December 2, 2007, Saket and his co-conspirators entered the Munots' bungalow, tied up the night guard, and murdered the couple. Ramesh Munot was stabbed multiple times, while his wife, Chitra, was tied to a chair, and her throat was slit. The group stole jewellery, foreign currency, and other valuables worth Rs. 9 lakhs before attempting to flee the city.

The trial court had sentenced all six accused to life imprisonment in 2013 for offenses under various sections of the IPC, including murder, dacoity, and conspiracy.

Case no. – Crl.A. No. 806-807/2023

Case Title – Shivkumar Ramsundar Saket v. State of Maharashtra

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 784

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