Death Penalty and Supreme Court: Commuted in two cases, fresh hearing in two cases

In a significant and noteworthy trend in the realm of death penalty, the Supreme Court of India last week commuted the death sentence of at least two convicts to life imprisonment..Further, it recalled orders (one in SLP and another in Review) which had confirmed capital punishment to convicts..Commutation of Death Penalty.On November 15, a three-judge Bench comprising Justices NV Ramana, M Shantanagoudar and, MR Shah commuted the capital punishment awarded to a Swapan Kumar Jha to life imprisonment. Jha had been convicted under Sections 302 and 364A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for kidnapping and murdering his own cousin..In a 3-page order, the Court ruled that the death penalty imposed on Jha, which was later confirmed by the High Court, was being “altered to ‘life imprisonment’ under the category of special sentencing”..The Court, however, made it clear that the convict will not be entitled to “remission”. The order also states that a “reasoned order will follow”..In a similarly worded order, the same Bench on November 14, commuted the death penalty awarded to one Prahlad, convicted of raping an eight-year-old girl in Rajasthan..The Court, in its brief order, held:.“After hearing learned counsel for the parties, we are of the opinion that this is not a fit case where extreme penalty of death can be imposed on the appellant...Taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances of the cases, we convert the death penalty imposed on the appellant, into life imprisonment.”.The Court also set aside the conviction under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO)..A reasoned order will be delivered later, the Court held..Recall of 2006 Orders dismissing SLP in limine.Another Bench comprising Justices Kurian Joseph, AM Khanwilkar, and DY Chandrachud, recalled two earlier Supreme Court orders passed in 2006, wherein the Special Leave Petition against the imposition of capital punishment was dismissed in limine..The order to that effect was passed in the case of Dnyaneshwar Suresh Borkar v. State of Maharashtra, after the State government, “graciously submitted” that it has no objection if the order of dismissal in limine is recalled..The Court, therefore, ordered that.“the orders dated 30.11.2006 passed in Review Petition (Crl) No.337/2006 in SLP (Crl) No.3323/2006 and order dated 21.07.2006 passed in SLP (Crl) No.3323/2006 are recalled.”.Leave was granted and the matter will now be heard on merits. The matter was listed for February 2019 considering the fact that the convict has already spent seventeen years in prison..Recall of Order Dismissing Review Petition.In another death penalty case of Sundar @ Sundararajan vs State, the same Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph, AM Khanwilkar, and DY Chandrachud recalled an order which had dismissed the review petition in 2013..This was done having regard to the directions of the Supreme Court in the judgment in Mohd. Arif @Ashfaq Vs. The Registrar, Supreme Court of India, [(2014) 9 SCC 737] as per which Review Petitions in cases involving death penalty have to be heard afresh in open court. The Court in its order stated:.“Having regard to the directions in Mohd. Arif @Ashfaq Vs. The Registrar, Supreme Court of India, reported in (2014) 9 SCC 737, the Review Petitions have to be heard afresh in open court. Therefore, the order dated 20.03.2013, dismissing the Review Petitions, is recalled.”.The stay imposed on the execution of the death sentence will continue till further orders..Read the Order in Swapan Kumar Jha vs State of Jharkhand.Read the Order in Prahlad vs State of Rajasthan.Read the Order in Dyaneshwar Suresh Borkar vs State of Maharashtra.Read the Order in Sundar @ Sundararajan vs State