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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Ajay Rastogi, Abhay S. Oka, JJ.
Narendra Singh @ Mukesh @ Bhura – Appellant
Versus
The State of Rajasthan – Respondent
Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s). 7830 of 2021 (Arising Out of Impugned Final Judgment and Order Dated 04-10-2019 in DBCRA No. 55 of 2014 Passed by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur)
Decided On : 28-02-2022
Section 302 IPC - Conviction for Life Imprisonment - Modification of Sentence
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner was convicted under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment, which was confirmed by the High Court. The petitioner appealed, arguing that the sentence of life imprisonment for the entire life span was beyond the jurisdiction of the trial judge.
Finding of the Court:
The court, after considering the limited submission made by the petitioner's counsel and the Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court reported in 2016 (7) SCC 1, modified the sentence of life imprisonment to imprisonment for life.
Issues: The issue before the court was the jurisdiction of the trial judge in imposing a sentence of life imprisonment for the entire life span under Section 302 of the IPC.
Ratio Decidendi: The court's decision was influenced by the interpretation of the relevant legal provisions, particularly the Constitution Bench judgment of the Supreme Court reported in 2016 (7) SCC 1, which led to the modification of the sentence.
Final Decision: The Special Leave Petition was disposed of, and any pending applications were also disposed of.
ORDER
1. The petitioner is convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC by judgment dated 19.12.2013 of the learned trial court and sentenced to life imprisonment which shall be extended to remainder of life, that came to be confirmed by the High Court on dismissal of appeal filed by the petitioner by judgment impugned dated 04.10.2019.
2. Learned Counsel for the petitioner has made a limited submission before this Court which has been noticed by us in our order dated 06.10.2021, referred hereunder:-
" Learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits that while convicting the petitioner for offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC, the Ld.Trial Judge has punished him with life imprisonment for the entire life span which according to the learned senior counsel is beyond jurisdiction of the Ld.Trial Judge and placed reliance on the judgment of this Court reported in 2016 (7) SCC 1.
Issue notice, for this limited purpose."
3. After we have heard the learned Counsel for the parties and taking note of the Constitution Bench judgment of this Court reported in 2016 (7) SCC 1, the sentence of life imprisonment which shall be extended to remainder of life passed by the learned trial court by judgment dated 19.12.2013 and confirmed by the High Court on dismissal of appeal stands modified with the sentence for imprisonment for life.
4. With these observations/clarifications, the Special Leave Petition stands disposed of.
5. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.
The court has the authority to modify a sentence based on the interpretation of relevant legal provisions and precedents.
Sentence of imprisonment for life has to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life.
Murder – There cannot be any sentence/punishment less than imprisonment for life if an accused is convicted for offence punishable under Section 302 IPC.
The power to impose a modified punishment providing for any specific term of incarceration or till the end of the convict's life as an alternate to death penalty can be exercised only by the High Cou....
Points Of Law : No likelihood of this appeal being heard soon - Direct release of appellants on bail subject to satisfaction of Trial Court.
Sentence – Court has to balance scales of retributive justice and restorative justice.
Life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC retains the right to seek remission, even when clarified to a maximum of 20 years by the High Court.
Life convicts are entitled to set-off for pre-conviction detention as per Section 428 CrPC.
Life sentence – A special category of sentence, instead of death, can be substituted by punishment of imprisonment for life or for a term exceeding 14 years and that category can be put beyond applic....
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