IMPORTANT POINTS
Review proceedings cannot be treated as an appeal in disguise.
Circumstantial evidence is not a bar on awarding capital sentence.
Ehen death sentence is excessive and sentence of life imprisonment simpliciter would be inadequate, convict may be directed to remain in prison for the remainder of his life.

JUDGMENT :

MOHAN M. SHANTANAGOUDAR, J.

The instant review proceedings pertain to Review Petition (Cri.) No. D19901 of 2012 seeking to review the final judgment and order dated 04.07.2011 passed by this Court in Criminal Appeal Nos. 185-86 of 2011 dismissing the appeal filed by the Review Petitioner (in short “the Petitioner”) and confirming his conviction under Sections 201 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (in short, “IPC”). Vide the impugned judgment, this Court upheld the sentence under Section 201, IPC and the death sentence under Section 302, IPC imposed upon the Petitioner.

2. The brief facts pertaining to this case are as follows:

2.1 On the morning of 21.08.2007, the bodies of four children were discovered floating in the village pond (known as Juna Pani talav) in the village of Rupla Naik Tanda, District Nanded, Maharashtra. A male child aged six years along with a female child aged ten years were found tied together, and a female child aged ten months along with a male child of two to four years, were found tied separately. The body of an unidentified woman with a mangalsutra on her neck was also subsequently discovered below a nearby boulder by the police. The deceased persons were eventually identified as Anita, the daughter of one Maroti Madavi, the two children born to her from her first husband and the two children born to her from the Petitioner. The Petitioner was found by the police on 24.08.2007, but is alleged to have absconded subsequently, and was arrested only on 22.09.2007.

3. The investigation revealed that the deceased Anita had been living with the Petitioner as his wife and had come to know about his marriage with PW-6 Muktabai. The deceased was opposed to this relationship, which led to a serious dispute amongst the three of them. The Petitioner allegedly divorced PW-6, and agreed to pay her a sum of Rs. 15,000/-, which the deceased Anita promised to bear. Thereafter, PW-6 went to her village, and the Petitioner, the deceased Anita and her four children came to the village of Juna Pani, where, because of the strained relationship with his wife, the Petitioner murdered her and the four children by strangulating them.

4. The principal evidence put forth by the prosecution against the Petitioner includes the motive of the accused, the evidence put forth by PW-8 Prahlad that the deceased were last seen with the Petitioner, and that of PW-6 Muktabai and PW-9 Ishwar with respect to the extra-judicial confessions made to them by the Petitioner. The Trial Court convicted the Petitioner for the offences stated supra on the basis of the last seen circumstance as deposed to by PW-8; the motive of the accused as deposed to by PW-5, the mother of the deceased Anita; the extra-judicial confession made by the Petitioner to PW-9 Ishwar; the fact that the Petitioner had absconded after the commission of the offence; and his failure to explain the circumstances leading to the homicidal deaths of the deceased. The High Court confirmed the conviction and sentence as awarded by the Trial Court, including the sentence of death, holding that the case at hand falls into the category of the rarest of rare cases warranting punishment with death. This Court, in appeal, confirmed the same.

5. Review Petition (Cri.) No. D19901 of 2012 filed by the Petitioner against the above judgment and order of this Court was dismissed by circulation vide order dated 26.07.2012. A criminal miscellaneous petition was filed by the Petitioner seeking reopening of this review petition, placing reliance on the decision of this Court in Mohd. Arif @ Ashfaq v. Registrar, Supreme Court of India, (2014) 9 SCC 737, which held that in light of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, review petitions arising out of appeals where the death sentence had been affirmed were required to be heard orally by a 3-Judge Bench, and specifically permitted the reopening of review petitions in all cases where review petitions had been dismissed by circulation. This Court sub