ORDER :

CRIMINAL APPEAL NOS. OF 2021 (Arising out of SLP (Crl.) Nos.9650-9651/2019)

1. Leave granted.

2. These appeals challenge the final judgment and order dated 19.08.2019 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh in Letters Patent

Appeal Nos.1397 of 2019 and 1395 of 2019. The appellants Jasbir Singh alias Jassa and Vikram Singh alias Vicky Walia and one Sonia were tried in the Court of Sessions Judge, Hoshiarpur (in Sessions Trial No.24 of 03.09.2005) for having committed offences punishable under Sections 302, 364A, 201 read with 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. By judgment dated 20.12.2006, the Trial Court found them guilty of the offences with which they were charged. By sentencing order dated 21.12.2006, they were given death sentence under Sections 302 and 364A IPC.

3. While dealing with Murder Reference No.01/2007 and Criminal Appeal No.105 (DB) of 2007 filed by the accused, the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh affirmed the view taken by the Trial Court and the award of death sentence.

4. The matter was carried to this Court and by its judgment and order in Vikram Singh & Others v. State of Punjab (2010) 3 SCC 56, the death sentence awarded to the present appellants was confirmed by this Court. However, the sentence of co-accused Sonia was modified to life imprisonment.

5. Review Petition (Crl.) Nos.192-193 of 2011 arising from the decision of this Court was dismissed by this Court on 20.04.2011.

6. After the decision of the Constitution Bench of this Court in Mohd. Arif alias Ashfaq v. Registrar, Supreme Court of India & Others, (2014) 9 SCC 737, another review petition was preferred which was also dismissed by this Court.

7. The death sentence having thus been affirmed right through, Civil Writ Petition being CWP No.21274 of 2016 was filed by the appellants submitting inter alia that there was undue and unexplained delay on the part of the concerned authorities in disposing of their Mercy Petitions and thus they were entitled to commutation of death sentence to one for

imprisonment for life.

8. The aforesaid Writ Petition came up before a Single Judge of the High Court, who by his judgment and order dated 26.07.2019 dismissed the same. The correctness of the decision of the Single Judge was put in challenge by the appellants by filing Letters Patent Appeal Nos.1395 and 1397 of 2019. Both these appeals were disposed of by the Division Bench of the High Court by its judgment and order which is presently under challenge.

9. The Division Bench was of the view that the intra-Court appeal under the Letters Patent would not be maintainable. Reliance was placed on the decision of this Court in Ram Kishan Fauzi v. State of Haryana & Others, (2017) 5 SCC 533 and particularly on the following observations of this Court:

“On a plain reading of the aforesaid clause of the Letters Patent, it is manifest that no appeal lies against the order passed by the Single Judge in exercising of criminal jurisdiction. Thus, the question that is required to be posed is whether the learned Single Judge, in the obtaining factual matrix has exercised criminal jurisdiction or not.”

10. While the challenge against the decision of the Division Bench was pending in this Court, Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No.9875 of 2019 was preferred by the appellants challenging the judgment and order passed by the Single Judge dismissing Civil Writ Petition No.21274 of 2016 (O&M).

11. In these appeals, we have heard Mr. Shri Singh, learned Advocate appearing for the appellants, Mr. K.M. Nataraj, learned Additional Solicitor General for Union of India, and Ms. Jaspreet Gogia, learned Advocate for the State.

12. The scope of matters where supervening circumstances are relied upon to submit that the delay in disposal of either mercy petitions or applications seeking commutation/remission afforded a ground seeking commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment, was considered in Shatrughan Chauhan & Another v. Union