In a setback to those who abolished the death penalty, the Supreme Court on Friday said that the judiciary has never tried to make the death penalty redundant or non-existent. The courts never tried to avoid awarding the death penalty in deserving cases.
“It has never been the endeavor of the court to punish by any means [sentence of death] redundant and non-existent for all practical purposes,” the court observed in a judgment.
Though the top court has held that capital punishment should be awarded only in the rarest of rare cases and even proposed extended jail term without remission, the judiciary cannot ignore death penalty as an alternative punishment till then. As long as it remains in the law books.
“Seeking justice in cases in which death sentence is awarded and maintained only in extreme cases does not mean that the case will be approached and investigated in such a way that the death penalty is avoided.” should go, even if the case actually demands such punishment,” the bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar held.
Seeking mitigating circumstances to help save a convicted prisoner from the noose should not be an excuse to forgo the death penalty.
“The quest to gather mitigating circumstances cannot be taken with any presumption or consideration that in any way, some factor should be found, or if not found, in any way reduced so as to render the sentence of death Such an approach would be unrealistic, unfair and rather not upholding the rule of law,” the court said.
The decision was based on an appeal filed by a man condemned to death for brutally raping a mentally and physically challenged child.
The court upheld the death sentence, noting that the man’s conduct even after the offense showed that he was beyond correction. He is also accused of murdering a fellow prison inmate.