The Story So Far
Two murder convictions in India on January 22, 2024, had contrasting verdicts: one received the death penalty, the other life imprisonment.
This sparked discussions on how the death penalty is applied in India, particularly the ‘rarest of rare’ doctrine, which lacks a clear definition.
The Cases
Kolkata Case (Doctor’s Murder):
A second-year female doctor was raped and murdered in Kolkata on August 9, 2024.
Sanjay Roy, the accused, was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment based on forensic evidence.
The judge ruled it was not a ‘rarest of rare’ case.
Sharon Murder Case (Poisoning)
Sharon Raj was poisoned by his partner, Greeshma, in Kerala on October 14, 2022.
Sharon died 11 days later from organ failure.
The court imposed the death penalty, declaring it a ‘rarest of rare’ case.
Origins of the Doctrine
1972 Supreme Court Ruling:
The Court upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty but did not define clear guidelines for its application.
1980 – Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab:
Established the ‘rarest of rare’ doctrine, specifying that the death penalty should only be used in exceptional cases.
1983 – Machhi Singh vs. State of Punjab:
Introduced a framework with five categories for determining ‘rarest of rare’ crimes:
Brutality of the crime
Motive showing depravity
Socially abhorrent nature
Magnitude of the crime
Personality of the offender (e.g., children, elderly victims)
Revisions and Challenges
1983 – Mithu vs. State of Punjab:
The Court struck down Section 303 of the IPC, which mandated the death penalty for prisoners serving life sentences who committed murder.
September 2022 – Constitutional Bench:
The Supreme Court referred a case to set guidelines for a more meaningful hearing on mitigating circumstances in death penalty cases.
Key Issues
Despite a framework, the ‘rarest of rare’ concept remains vague, leading to judicial discretion.
The application of the death penalty in India remains complex and often contested.
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