Death penalty is not open ended that can be challenged all the time by condemned prisoners: SC

Observing that "finality" of death sentence is extremely important, Supreme Court on Thursday said condemned prisoners should t be under impression that death penalty remains "open ended" and can be challenged all time by m.

In remarks that came against backdrop of four death row convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case filing one petition after ar leing to delay in ir hanging, court stressed it has to act as per law and judges also have a duty towards society and victims to deliver justice.

observations were me by a bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and justices S A Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna while hearing review pleas of a woman and her lover for killing seven members of her family including parents, two brors and ir wives and strangulating her 10-month-old nephew in Uttar Presh in 2008.

bench reserved its verdict on ir review pleas against its 2015 judgement upholding death penalty to two convicts. "One cant go on fighting endlessly for everything," it said. " finality of death sentence is extremely important and a condemned prisoner should t be under impression, that death sentence remains open ended and can be questioned by m all time."

remarks came when senior vocates Anand Grover and Meenakshi Arora pleed for leniency and commutation of death penalty of Shabnam and her lover Saleem on ground y be afforded an opportunity to reform mselves. plea was vehemently opposed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

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"A convict cant seek mercy after killing his parents that oh ho, w I have become an orphan," said Mehta, who appeared for UP Government.

law officer said that after convictions, a ground is being allowed to be taken that death row convict has reformed himself or herself in jail n everybody will take that plea and it would open a new legal avenues for such condemned criminals. bench asked lawyers to provide it judgement on issue wher court is obliged to consider plea of reformation for commuting death penalty of convicts post ir convictions in heius cases like present one.

"Every criminal is said to have an incent heart. However, we have to look into crime also," bench said when ground of possible reformation of convicts was argued as one of mitigating circumstances for commuting death penalty. bench said scope of review plea was limited and condemned prisoners were required to only show "error apparent on records" of apex court's earlier verdict.

"We do t like to emphasise only on life and death penalty of an accused, especially when lives of seven people have been snuffed out in present case," bench said, ding " most important thing that we consider is sentencing should be proportionate to crime."

bench was told by lawyers for convicts that y belong to a poor and uneducated background and moreover, y were first time criminals and hence be given an opportunity to reform. It n referred to sequence of events in case and said far of woman convict was against her relationship with co-convict and her lover and fights used to take place in family on issue.

In a pre-meditated manner woman served sedative-laced tea to all seven family members and n her lover comes in picture and inflicts fatal wounds on all of m by using an axe, bench said. "It is t judge but law that deals with a criminal. A judge, being a human being, cant forgive a murderer. law and judge act for society. Imagine a situation when a judge tells a murderer 'oh yes, I forgive you!'. Imagine impact."

solicitor general n mentioned plea of Ministry of Home Affairs, which was filed on Wednesday, and said Centre is seeking modification of 2014 directions to ensure that a 7-day deline is fixed for execution of condemned prisoners after issuance of black warrant. apex court h upheld death sentence of two convicts who are natives of Amroha in UP, in 2015. In 2010, Allahab High Court upheld death sentence awarded to duo by a sessions court.

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