Calcutta High Court commutes death sentence of man convicted for beheading woman on suspicion of witchcraft

The Calcutta High Court recently commuted the death penalty of a man convicted of beheading a woman in a temple on suspicion of witchcraft [The State of West Bengal v Radha Kanta Bera]. 

A Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md Shabbar Rashidi noted that the convict Radha Kanta Bera was suffering from mental illness and the case did not fall in the 'rarest of rare' category.

Hence, it reduced the punishment from death to life imprisonment.

“In the light of discussions hereinbefore, we are of the opinion that in the facts and circumstances of the present case, imprisonment for life would be sufficient punishment instead of death penalty. We are not minded to confirm the death sentence awarded by the learned trial court. We accordingly commute the death sentence, imposed upon the appellant, into one of life imprisonment,” the Court ordered. 

Bera was convicted by the trial court and awarded a death sentence on May 3, 2023 for the murder of a woman. 

As per the police report, he and his parents entered the house of a woman, dragged her to a Kali temple, suspecting her of being a witch. She was asked to bow down before the idol, and as soon as she did, Bera beheaded her. 

After the murder, he took the woman’s head to his house. 

While convicting him, the trial court said that his punishment would send a signal to prospective offenders and that the case falls under the category of the rarest of rare. 

However, High Court examined the socio-economic condition, mental fitness and the age of the convict to commute his death penalty. 

“Taking all the aforesaid factors coupled with the conduct of the appellant in the correctional home and that he had no criminal antecedent behind, we are of the view that the option of any punishment other than death penalty is not foreclosed. Apart from that, the facts and circumstances of the case under which, the offence was committed, cannot be said to bring the case in the category of ‘rarest of rare case’,” the Court said. 

Senior Advocate Sourav Chatterjee and advocate Soumya Nag appeared for Radha Kanta Bera. 

The State of West Bengal was represented by Public Prosecutor Debasish Roy and advocates Rudradipta Nandy and Amita Gaur.

[Read Judgment]