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2024 Supreme(Tri) 16
HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA AGARTALA
T. Amarnath Goud, Biswajit Palit , JJ.
The Sessions Judge, Khowai District, Tripura - Appellant
Versus
The State of Tripura & Ors. - Respondents
Death Sentence Reference No.2 of 2022 and Criminal Appeal (J) No. 40 of 2022
Decided On : 12-02-2024
None, for the Appellant; Mr. Raju Datta, Public Prosecutor, for the Respondent.
The court held that in absence of established motive and mens rea, coupled with issues of mental health, capital punishment should be substituted with life imprisonment, emphasizing that death sentences should be reserved for rarest of rare cases.
Headnote:(A) Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Sections 302 and 307 - Appeal against conviction resulting in death sentence - The trial court convicted the appellant for multiple murders and attempted murders, sentencing him to death after determining the commission of heinous acts under extreme circumstances without established motive. The investigative process was criticized for failing to assess the appellant's mental state immediately post-crime. (Paras 1, 48-50, 60-62)
(B) Rarest of Rarer Case - The court deliberated on the exceptional nature of the case, emphasizing the necessity for death sentences to be reserved for the rarest of the rare instances. The appellant's mental health during the incident was under scrutiny, leading to a sentence of life imprisonment without remission instead of death. (Paras 58-62)
Facts of the case:
The appellant, during an outburst, murdered his two daughters, brother, and two others while also inflicting serious injuries on others, including a police officer. His behaviors suggested possible mental instability, complicating interpretations of motive and intent. (Paras 2-4, 50-55)
Findings of Court:
The trial court's judgement was upheld except for modifying the death sentence to life imprisonment without remission, emphasizing proper psychological evaluation and response protocols post-crime. (Paras 60-62)
Issues: The main issues revolved around assessing mental state, mens rea, and the appropriateness of capital punishment within the context of the charged offenses. (Paras 46-50)
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized that the absence of motive and satisfaction of mens rea, combined with the claims of temporary insanity and the absence of a prior criminal history, warranted a re-evaluation of the sentence originally prescribed by the trial court. (Paras 50-56)
Result: Death sentence modified to life imprisonment. (Para 62)
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. conviction and sentencing details. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. investigation process overview. (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. charges and pleas presented. (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. arguments regarding appeal and reliefs. (Para 7 , 8 , 9) |
| 5. defendant's behavior and mental state argument. (Para 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 6. death penalties require exceptional justification beyond mere commission of crime. (Para 18 , 60) |
| 7. motive and mens rea are critical in evaluating criminal acts. (Para 35) |
| 8. criminal liability must be evaluated with consideration of mental health. (Para 38) |
| 9. discussion on motive and mens rea. (Para 40 , 41) |
| 10. analysis of mental condition and behavior. (Para 44 , 48) |
| 11. judicial responsibilities in punishment. (Para 55 , 59) |
| 12. modification of death sentence to life imprisonment. (Para 62) |
JUDGMENT & ORDER
T. Amarnath Goud, J. - The appeal under Section 374 of Cr.P.C. and reference under Section 366 of Cr.P.C. arise out of common Judgment and Order of conviction and sentence dated 23.11.2022 passed in connection with ST(T-1)09 of 2022 by the learned Sessions Judge, Khowai, Tripura whereby the learned Court below convicted the appellant for the commission of offence under Section 307 of IPC and sentenced him to suffer R.I. for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/-, i.e. to suffer S.I. for 2 months and convicted under Section 302 of IPC and sentenced to death as per law. Learned Court below also passed an order to pay compensation of Rs. 5,000/- each to the victims namely Smt. Mina Paul (Debroy) wife of the Convict and Karnabir Das. The conviction and sentence are challenged by the accused. In view of capital punishment, a reference for confirmation of the death penalty is also placed for our consideration.
2. The brief fact of this case is that on 26.11.2021 at about 11.00 p.m. the brother of the informant namely, Sri Pradip Debroy went to sleep after dinner. After that all of a sudden, the informant and other inmates of the house including his elder brother Amalesh Debroy heard a cry coming from the room of Pradip Debroy. Immediately they rushed to the room of Sri Pradip Debroy and told him to open the door but he did not. Then they broke the door of the veranda and went near the door of the room. When they peeped through an opening of the door, they saw the dead body of Aditi, the younger daughter of Pradip lying on the ground. They also noticed that Pradip was attacking his elder daughter and his wife with a big crowbar. After a while, he opened the door and chased the informant and others to kill. The informant Raju Debroy and his mother and others could manage to save themselves but the elder brother of the informant namely, Amalesh could not run away. Amalesh was killed by Pradip with a crowbar infront of the room of Amrit Debroy who was the uncle of the informant. When their uncle tried to resist, he was also attacked. After that, on hearing the sound of a vehicle he became naked and started running with the crowbar along the Bir Chowmohoni road. At that time, the vehicle of police came and when it stopped in front of the house of the Pradhan, Pradip attacked one police with a crowbar and also attacked the vehicle of the police. He also chased police and went along Bir Chowmhoni road. He attacked one Autorickshaw and also attacked one Krishna Das and his son Karnabir Das. Subsequently, the informant learned that the injured police officer succumbed to his injuries at GBP hospital. It is also learned by the informant that the injured Krishna Das was declared brought dead at Khowai Hospital. Karnabir Das, the son of Krishna Das and Smt. Mina Paul (Debroy), the wife of Pradip Debroy suffered serious injuries and were shifted to GBP Hospital. It is further alleged that Pradip killed his elder daughter Mandira. The informant came to know that the name of the police officer who died was Inspector Satyajit Mallik. Hence the FIR was lodged by Raju Debroy against his brother Pradip Debroy.
3. On 27.11.2021 at 06.31 hours on receipt of the eja
