Court awards life-term RI to trio, refuses to put them on death row

New Delhi: A Delhi court has sentenced three men to rigorous life imprisonment in a 2015 murder case, refusing to award them the death penalty as it was not a fit case for it.
The court of additional sessions judge Vikram, in its Feb 7 verdict, said: "Although the facts of this case do not qualify the test of the rarest of rare case propounded by the hon'ble Supreme Court in the Bachan Singh vs state of Punjab (1980) 2 SCC 684, otherwise also the death penalty, in my view, provides for a justification of taking somebody's life only because it is collective will, whereas principally, morally as well as legally there is no such justification for individual will. That is what makes us civil."
The court was hearing a case against Mohammed Adil Khan, Amit Kumar and Shehzad, who were convicted of murder, dacoity and criminal intimidation.
Two accused in the case are untraceable and have been declared proclaimed offenders.The court sentenced Khan, Kumar and Shehzad to rigorous imprisonment (RI) for life.
The Maurya Enclave police station registered an FIR in the case.
Additional public prosecutor Vineet Dahiya, urging the court to award the death penalty to the three convicted men, submitted before the court that the accused persons had planned a robbery and shot the victim in cold blood while executing the offence in the person's office in Pitampura in Jan 2015.
Dahiya sought maximum penalty, saying a young boy was killed and the murder sent shockwaves in society.
The court praised the additional public prosecutor for his contribution to the case. "At this stage, it is necessary to appreciate the contribution of learned Addl PP Sh Vineet Dahiya who took immense pain in proving the case. Therefore, this court extends thanks to learned Addl PP Sh Vineet Dahiya," the court said.