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News18
6 days ago
- News18
'Not Rarest Of Rare Case': Calcutta HC Commutes Convict's Death Sentence In Rape-Murder Of Minor
Last Updated: However, the court unequivocally upheld the conviction, noting that the evidence established his guilt beyond any reasonable doubt The Calcutta High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to a man convicted for the rape and murder of a minor girl, citing his lack of criminal antecedents, stable social conduct, and advanced age of 58 years as mitigating factors. However, the court unequivocally upheld the conviction, noting that the evidence established his guilt beyond any reasonable doubt. The division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi delivered the judgment while deciding the convict's appeal against the trial court's verdict and a reference for confirmation of the death sentence. Background of the Case The case stems from a complaint lodged by the victim's uncle, who alleged that on August 8, 2016, he received a call stating that his niece, then working as domestic help at the convict's residence, was seriously ill. Upon arriving at the convict's house, the uncle and the victim's mother found her dead in a locked bathroom. The body was partially burnt. Suspecting foul play, the family accused the convict of raping and murdering the girl, and then attempting to destroy the evidence by setting her body on fire. The trial court convicted the accused under Sections 376(2)(i)(k) (rape), 302 (murder), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and awarded him the death penalty. Senior advocate Kaushik Gupta, representing the convict, challenged the credibility of the circumstantial evidence, arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of his client beyond a reasonable doubt. The senior counsel submitted that the bathroom was locked from the inside and broken open only upon the family's arrival, suggesting possible alternative scenarios. Gupta also argued that the lack of noise or disturbances heard by neighbouring masons raised questions about the prosecution's version. On the other hand, additional public prosecutor (APP) Debasish Roy maintained that the prosecution had presented a complete and coherent chain of evidence that clearly established the convict's guilt. The court found merit in the prosecution's case, noting that medical and circumstantial evidence 'safely established" that the victim was subjected to repeated sexual assault and subsequently murdered. 'The chain of circumstances is complete and neatly woven to exclude the intervention of anybody other than the appellant in the commission of the offence," the bench held. Court's Reasoning on Sentence While the High Court affirmed the conviction, it commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment, holding that the case did not fall under the 'rarest of rare" category warranting capital punishment. Referring to settled Supreme Court precedents, the HC noted that the death penalty must only be imposed when the possibility of the convict's reformation is ruled out. The convict, a 58-year-old former labourer, had no history of criminal behaviour or psychological instability. 'The convict is not reported with any criminal antecedent or unstable social behaviour in the past… there was no history of mental or psychological illness reported against him," the bench stated. Additionally, the court found no evidence suggesting prior enmity between the victim and the convict or between their families. It observed that the convict's wife, being a working woman, may have allowed the accused the opportunity to exploit the victim's vulnerability. In its judgment, the court said, 'In an anxiety to get off with the consequences [of the assault], the convict killed the victim and set the dead body on fire with a view to cause disappearance of evidence of crime." Yet, it concluded that these circumstances, although egregious, were not sufficient to deny the possibility of reformation. Upholding the conviction but modifying the sentence, the High Court ordered that the convict serve life imprisonment for the offences under IPC and POCSO, and accordingly disposed of the appeal and the death reference. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Calcutta High Court death penalty minor murder pocso Rape Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 26, 2025, 22:13 IST News india 'Not Rarest Of Rare Case': Calcutta HC Commutes Convict's Death Sentence In Rape-Murder Of Minor
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Time of India
2013 rape-murder case: Calcutta HC commutes convict's death penalty to life term with no remission for 50 years, cites mild mental disability
KOLKATA: Calcutta High Court on Tuesday commuted the death penalty of a 45-year-old man convicted of raping and murdering a two-and-a-half-year-old child in Kidderpore in 2013 — stating that the crime did not 'fall under the rarest-of-rare' category — and sentenced him to life in jail without remission for 50 years. The HC division bench of justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi also took into account the psychological evaluation report of the convict that said he suffered from 'mild mental disability'. In the intervening night of July 20 and 21, 2013, stable hand Suresh Paswan, then employed with Royal Calcutta Turf Club (RCTC), had abducted the toddler from a shanty under the Kidderpore ramp of Vidyasagar Setu where she lived with her grandmother, sexually assaulted her, strangled her to death and dumped the body in a drain near the northern gate of RCTC. The body was discovered by a couple of slum kids on the morning of July 21. After the child's death, her mother, who suffered from psychiatric illnesses, also went missing. Paswan, who then lived in a shed that housed Race Course stable hands, fled to his village in Bihar and was nabbed from there a day later. An autopsy report showed that the child's body bore 17 injuries, establishing that she was subjected to brutal sexual assault. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cel mai popular echipament de sudură din zonă siginificant Află mai multe Undo She bled from the nostrils and ears and her death was due to manual strangulation, the report said. On March 28, 2019, a city sessions court sentenced Paswan, then 41, to death for the murder of the toddler and awarded him 20 years in jail for rape under Pocso. On Tuesday, the HC division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi upheld Paswan's conviction but did not find it a 'rarest of rare case' to justify death sentence. 'The appellant is aged 45 years and comes from a very poor economic background. He was married, but his wife left the appellant. He used to reside alone in the horse stable. The circumstances of the case do not suggest that the offence committed was pre-planned or was an outcome of any rivalry or enmity with the family of the victim. As the Supreme Court held in many cases, every murder is gruesome but does not justify the death penalty. In any case, we are not in a position to return a finding that the offence involved in the case at hand falls under the category of 'rarest of rare cases' to justify the punishment of death,' the HC held. Paswan's psychological evaluation report suggested his current intellectual functioning fell under the category of mild mental disability, which could be attributed to his lack of education. A socio-economic report showed Paswan was an only child. His father died before his birth and he was brought up by his mother, who worked as an agricultural labourer. 'His life has been reeling under poverty,' the HC observed. 'It is trite law that imposition of the death penalty should be resorted to if the circumstances of the case and the evidence led therein leave an impression that the option of imposition of any other penalty stands foreclosed. The possibility of future reformation is also a relevant factor to be taken into consideration while awarding the death sentence to a convict,' the bench observed.
News18
13-06-2025
- News18
No Death Penalty, But Jail For 40 Years Sans Remission: HC On Man Who Stabbed Former Lover 45 Times
Last Updated: The court found that a standard life sentence, which could allow for remission after 14 years, would be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the crime The Calcutta High Court has commuted the death sentence of a 24-year-old man convicted for the brutal murder of his former lover to life imprisonment without remission for 40 years. A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi upheld the conviction of Susanta Chowdhury, who was found guilty by a fast-track court of murdering a 19-year-old college student in Behrampore, Murshidabad, in broad daylight on May 2, 2022. The trial court had sentenced him to death. The accused, enraged after the victim ended their relationship and began seeing another person, planned the crime meticulously. He purchased a knife and a toy gun from an online store and used the latter to deter bystanders during the attack. The murder took place outside the victim's rented accommodation and was captured on video by a journalist, who was among the eyewitnesses. During the trial, 34 witnesses were examined, including police officers, forensic experts, family members, and acquaintances of the victim. The post-mortem revealed 45 stab wounds, several of which were classified as defensive injuries. The CCTV footage and video recording from a mobile phone, accompanied by valid electronic evidence certificates, were accepted by the court. Biological evidence also confirmed the presence of the victim's blood on the knife, clothes, and shoes of the accused. The high court, while affirming the conviction, reconsidered the sentence. Referring to landmark decisions including Bachan Singh, Machi Singh, Santosh Bariyar, and Swamy Shraddananda, the court ruled that while the crime was undoubtedly heinous, it did not fall into the 'rarest of rare' category warranting the death penalty. The bench took note of mitigating factors, particularly the convict's age — 21 at the time of the offence — absence of a prior criminal record, and psychological assessments indicating the possibility of reformation. 'There is no material before us to suggest that the appellant is beyond reformation," the court observed, adding that 'death penalty must be imposed only when life imprisonment is unquestionably inadequate." However, the court found that a standard life sentence, which could allow for remission after 14 years, would be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the crime. Instead, it imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of remission for 40 years from the date of arrest, along with a fine of Rs 50,000. Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional five years of rigorous imprisonment. The court also upheld the conviction and sentence under Section 28 of the Arms Act for the use of an imitation firearm. First Published: June 13, 2025, 19:16 IST
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Time of India
Default bail not an option in drug cases: Calcutta HC
Kolkata: An accused in an NDPS (drug) case is not entitled to default bail if a charge sheet, even without a chemical report, is filed within time, the Calcutta High Court ruled while cancelling the interim bail granted to the legal point on whether the charge sheet without a chemical report in the NDPS case entitles the accused to statutory bail is pending before the Supreme Court. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now However, the division bench of justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi held that, as of today, the law is that a charge sheet is complete if the materials and evidence are before the court along with the charge sheet for the court to take cognisance. Filing a supplementary charge sheet to bring on the record the forensic laboratory test report is also permissible."Bombay and Guwahati HCs have held that a charge sheet without the chemical examination report does not entitle the accused to default bail. On the strength of the authorities presently subsisting, we are not in a position to return a finding that the charge sheet without the chemical examination report makes the investigation incomplete," the HC held. The four accused had applied for bail on March 26. The police had filed a charge sheet, and subsequently a supplementary charge sheet along with a chemical report. A commercial quantity of brown sugar was seized from the accused.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
SSC: Cal HC dismisses contempt plea over SC order
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed a contempt application filed against the non-compliance of the order on the termination of services of 25,752 SSC 2016 appointees . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A division bench of justices Debangsu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi held that since the matter was with Supreme Court, the apex court would deal with the contempt plea. These appeals involved allegations that the state education department and the SSC had failed to comply with court orders, such as uploading OMR sheets and recovering salaries from individuals whose appointments had been deemed invalid. "An order passed in writ jurisdiction is enforced through a contempt proceeding primarily on the principle that non-adherence or non-compliance with the writ issued tends to degrade the dignity and majesty of the court issuing the writ. In the... present case, the ultimate writ was issued by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, and therefore a contempt petition would not lie before this court to enforce such an order, unless specifically empowered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court," the division bench noted. The bench added that Article 215 of the Constitution had empowered the high court to punish for its contempt and not that of Supreme Court, without the latter's request
