TRIAL COURTS CANNOT AWARD THE SENTENCE OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT TILL LAST BREATH: KARNATAKA HC

It must be stated most forcefully that all the Trial Court Judges in India and so also all the human rights lawyers, intellectuals, criminal lawyers and students of law must unfailingly read this most learned, laudable, logical and landmark judgment titled Harish vs State of Karnataka Criminal Appeal No. 1234 of 2017 C/W Criminal Appeal No. 836 of 2017 that was delivered just recently on July 18, 2023 by a learned Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice K Somashekar and Hon’ble Mr Justice Rajesh Rai K wherein it has been reiterated most firmly that Trial Courts cannot impose a “special category sentence” or imprisonment for life without the possibility of remission or, in other words, imprisonment till last breath” of the convict.

- SANJEEV SIROHI

ANALYSIS

We must note here that the Division Bench clarified in no uncertain terms that it is only the Supreme Court and the High Courts that can impose such punishments. In hindsight, the Apex Court also had held so in the leading case law titled Union of India vs V Sriharan alias Murugan and others (2014) 4 SCC 242. We see here that the two appeals were filed before the Karnataka High Court by Harish and Lokesh who were the first and third accused in the murder of DR Kumar. The second convict Radha had not filed an appeal. The bail and surety bond of Harish was cancelled and he was given two weeks to surrender before the Trial Court to serve the sentence.