New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) A court here has sentenced two men to life imprisonment in a 2015 murder case, saying that undue sympathy to impose an inadequate sentence would harm the justice system by undermining public confidence in the efficacy of law. Additional Sessions Judge Virender Kumar Kharta observed that although the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating factors, the case was beyond the purview of the ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine to award the death penalty.

The court was hearing a case against Gurcharan Singh and Sheesh Ram, who had been earlier convicted under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Additional public prosecutor Pankaj Kumar Ranga argued that both the convicts in furtherance of their common intention committed heinous offence of murder of the victim, Manish, on April 1, 2015, and hence, they deserved maximum punishment.

In an order dated May 13, the court cited a 2005 Supreme Court judgment, according to which, “Undue sympathy to impose an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system to undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law. It is therefore the duty of every court to award a proper sentence.” The court said, “In the present case, the aggravating circumstances have outweighed the mitigating circumstances, but still the present case does not fall within the purview of the rarest of rare doctrine.” It then sentenced the duo to life imprisonment under IPC Section 302.

“This court is of the considered opinion that family members of deceased Manish have suffered mental trauma, inconvenience, hardship, disappointment and frustration, and adequate compensation needs to be granted to them,” said the judge, referring the case to the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for determination and award of compensation to the legal heirs of the victim. PTI MNR NB