Crime & commensurate punishment

LEGAL CIRCLES

Going by the factual matrix of the case reproduced by the apex court itself in a recent judgment dated September 15 in criminal appeal Nos. 1584-1585 of 2014 in Govindaswamy Vs. State of Kerala, one is constrained to conclude that the honourable court has been too lenient towards the accused/appellant in altering the death penalty to rigorous imprisonment of seven years though technical scholastic interpretation of the relevant sections of law cannot be faulted.

Briefly, the facts of the case are: the deceased/victim girl, aged about 23 years, was working in Ernakulam and was engaged to one Anoop who also happened to be employed in Ernakulam. Their betrothal ceremony was to be held in the house of the girl at Shomur on February 2, 2011. Anoop along with his family members was scheduled to visit the house of the girl on that day.

Accordingly, on February 1, 2011 the girl boarded the Ernakulam-Shumur Passenger Train at about 5.30 pm from Ernakulam Town North Railway Station to go to her home at Shomur. She had boarded the ladies division of the last compartment. There were other passengers also in the said compartment. When the train reached Mulloorkara, all other lady passengers in the said compartment had alighted and, therefore, the girl also got down along with them and hurriedly entered the ladies coach attached just in front of the last compartment.

The train reached Vallathol Nagar Railway Station, where it halted for some time. The accused/appellant, who is a habitual offender, noticed that the girl was alone in the ladies compartment. As soon as the train left Vallathol Nagar Railway Station and moved towards Shomur, the accused entered the compartment. The accused then assaulted the girl and, in fact, repeatedly hit her head on the walls of the compartment.

The deceased was crying and screaming. Then, the victim was dropped/pushed by the accused from the running train on to the track and the side of her face hit on the other side of the running train. The accused also jumped down from the other side of the running train and after lifting the victim to another place by the side of the track he sexually assaulted her. Thereafter, he ransacked her belongings and went away from the place with her mobile phone.

What is still more pathetic is the fact that the passengers travelling in the adjacent general compartment were dissuaded from pulling the chain saying that “the girl had jumped out from the train and escaped and that in these circumstances he (the fellow passenger) should not take the matter any further as the same may drag all of them to Court.”

Eventually, the girl was found and admitted to the Medical College Hospital, Thrissur where she died on February 6, 2011. After a trial, the accused was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentenced to death. He was additionally convicted under Section 376 of IPC and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life. Besides he was found guilty of the offences punishable under Section 447 of the IPC for which rigorous imprisonment of seven years and three months was awarded.

The conviction of the accused and the sentences imposed were confirmed by the High Court. The apex court after considering the relevant facts of the case and hearing the arguments of the lawyers of both sides, thought fit in its wisdom to substitute the charge under Section 302 IPC with that of Section 325 of the IPC and set aside the death sentence.

The gruesome rape and murder of the lonely girl travelling without an accomplice and letting the accused with a lesser punishment by the apex court would certainly raise concerns about the safety of the women in general and those travelling alone.

Delay condoned

In Sandhya Rani Debbarma & Others Vs. National Insurance Company Ltd and Another the apex court condoned the whopping delay of 2,824 days citing reasons for doing so the Court said, “delay was caused only on account of the appellants pursuing the remedy of filing a Writ Appeal before the division bench of the High Court as well as the fact that claim is made under section 166 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 which is a beneficial legislation.”

BAI elections

The Bar Association of India (BAI) elected Lalit Bhasin as its new President in its General body meeting held at New Delhi recently. Bhasin has succeeded R K P Shankardass. The meeting also elected Yakesh Anand as the General Secretary replacing Rachana Sreevastav. Besides, 12 vice-presidents, 6 joint general secretaries, a treasurer and Executive Committee members from each State of the country were elected.

By dr h c upadhyay