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IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
DEBANGSU BASAK, MD. SHABBAR RASHIDI
State of West Bengal – Appellant
Versus
Fagun Mandi @ Pui – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. impugned judgment and conviction details (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. appellants' arguments against conviction (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16) |
| 3. factual background of missing victim (Para 17 , 18) |
| 4. court's analysis of evidence and conviction rationale (Para 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73) |
| 5. consideration of death penalty factors (Para 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78) |
| 6. application of sentencing principles in death penalty case (Para 79 , 80 , 81) |
| 7. commutation of death penalty to life sentence ruling (Para 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91) |
| 8. final orders and directions (Para 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96) |
JUDGMENT :
DEBANGSU BASAK, J.
1. Death reference and the connected appeal have been heard analogously as they emanate out of the same impugned judgment of conviction dated June 27, 2023 and the order of sentence dated June 28, 2023 passed by the learned subha karmakar Digitaly signed by subha karmakar Date: 2025.07.23 Additional Sessions Judge, 2nd Court, Jhargram in Sessions Trial No. 03(02) of 2022 arising out of POCSO Case no. 18/21.
2. By the impugned judgment
The court established that a death penalty may be commuted to life imprisonment based on mitigating factors, even in serious cases, while emphasizing the necessity for societal protection.
The court held that the death penalty is inappropriate for a first-time offender without prior convictions; life imprisonment is more suitable given mitigating circumstances.
(1) Evidence is only to be weighed and not to be counted – It is essentially, for prosecution to decide as to how many witnesses are to be examined to establish its case on any particular point.(2) D....
The court upheld the conviction for murder and sexual assault, affirming strong evidential links to the appellant despite procedural challenges in the case.
(1) Though false explanation cannot be taken to complete a missing link in chain of circumstances, it can surely be taken to fortify conclusion of conviction recorded on the basis of proven incrimina....
The judgment establishes that circumstantial evidence must form a complete, unbroken chain directly linking the accused to the crime, which warranted a life sentence in this case.
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