The Division Judge Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi of the Calcutta High Court in the case of Kamrujjaman Sarkar @ Kama @ Kamrul Vs State of West Bengal after taking into account the age of the appellant, the age of the victim, and the nature of the crime commuted the death sentence awarded against the appellant to life imprisonment.
Brief Facts:
The factual matrix of the case is that the appellant committed trespass by entering into the house of the de facto complainant, sexually assaulted, and caused injuries to the victim, the minor daughter of the de facto complainant. The charges were framed against the appellant under section 448, 376A, 302 of the Indian Penal Code,1860, and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
Contentions:
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant has contended that the appellant was shown on social media before the test identification parade. Therefore, the veracity of the Test Identification Parade has been put into doubt. It was further contended that the presence of a fingerprint itself is not conclusive proof. Moreover, it was contended that the incident cannot be described as the rarest of rare cases warranting the imposition of the death penalty, as demanded by the contested conviction and sentencing.
The learned counsel appearing on behalf of the state has contended that the prosecution had placed convincing evidence on record at the trial to establish the guilt of the appellant. Furthermore, it was submitted that at the trial, the prosecution presented conclusive evidence establishing that the woman had been raped previous to being assaulted, which resulted in her death. As a result, he believes the Learned Trial Judge appropriately awarded the verdict of conviction and punishment.
Court’s Observation:
The Hon’ble Court observed that the victim had been raped and murdered. The manner in which the crime had been committed although gruesome cannot be said to come within the purview of the rarest of rare cases. The Court was not convinced that the award of the death penalty to the appellant in the facts and circumstances of the present case was justified although, rape and murder had been established conclusively.
The decision of the Court:
The Bench commuted the death sentence awarded against the appellant to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission for a period of 25 years from the date of his arrest in this police case, taking into account the age of the appellant, the age of the victim and the nature of the crime.
Case Title: Kamrujjaman Sarkar @ Kama @ Kamrul Vs State of West Bengal
Coram: Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi
Case No: DR 7 of 2020
Advocate for the Appellant: Mr. Sekhar Kr. Basu, Ld. Sr. Adv. Mr. Arnab Chatterjee, Adv.
Advocate for the State: Mr. Neguive Ahmed, Ld. APP, Ms. Amita Gaur, Adv.
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