SC in murder trial: Death penalty is exception, not rule

The Supreme Court has reaffirmed that not every case of multiple murders qualifies as a "rarest of rare" instance warranting the death penalty, particularly when there is potential for reform.

- HT Correspondent

NEW DELHI:

In a significant ruling, a bench of justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta recently commuted the death sentence of a man convicted of murdering his wife and four minor daughters, sentencing him instead to life imprisonment without remission.

The court underscored that while the crime was brutal and deeply disturbing, the absence of criminal antecedents, favourable prison reports indicating a scope for rehabilitation and legal precedents weighed against imposing capital punishment.

The man was convicted of murdering his wife and daughters on the intervening night of November 11-12, 2011.