Shakti Mills gangrape case: Bombay HC quashes death penalty of 3 convicts, awards life imprisonment
The Bombay HC lowered the punishment of the ‘repeat offenders’ and the culprits will stay in jail “for the remainder of their natural life,” in the heinous crime that was committed in 2013.
FollowThe Bombay High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence of three convicts to life term in the 2013 gangrape case of a 22-year-old photojournalist inside the defunct Shakti Mills compound in central Mumbai. A division bench of Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Prithviraj Chavan pronounced the order and refused to confirm the death penalty awarded to Vijay Jadhav, Mohammad Qasim Shaikh and Mohammad Ansari.
The bench said that it cannot ignore the fact that the offence has shocked the collective conscience of the society and rape is a violation of human rights, but the sentence of death is irrevocable. It added that courts have a duty to consider cases dispassionately and cannot ignore the procedure laid down by the law.
Over seven years after a trial court in Mumbai sentenced three men, including an 18-year-old, to death by hanging in the heinous crime that was committed in 2013, the Bombay HC lowered the punishment of the ‘repeat offenders’ and the culprits will stay in jail “for the remainder of their natural life,” the Bombay HC stated. “The Court cannot ignore the fact that the offence has shocked the conscience of society. Rape is a violation of human rights. But this is a constitutional court, sentence of death is irrevocable,” Bombay HC further stated.
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“Death puts an end to the concept of repentance. It cannot be said that the accused deserved only death penalty. They deserve imprisonment for life to repent the offence committed by them,” the bench said. It added that the convict shall not be entitled for parole or furlough as they cannot be allowed to assimilate in the society and as there is no scope for reformation.
With the trial court's verdict in 2014, Qasim 'Bangali' Shaikh (21), Salim Ansari (28) and Vijay Jadhav (19) became the first convicts to be sentenced to death under section 376 (E) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
