The Calcutta High Court, in a significient ruling has held that Trial Courts cannot award Life Imprisonment till death without any scope of remission, except in Rape Cases.
The Division Bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Bivas Pattanayak while adjudicating upon a Criminal Revision Petition assailing conviction by Sessions Court to appellants for commission of offence punishable under Section 302/34 IPC and Arms Act, observed that heavier sentence can only be imposed by the higher judiciary i.e. Supreme Court or the High Courts.
The Court in the conclusion of the judgement took note of the fact that the trial Court has imposed a sentence of life imprisonment till death upon one of the appellants.
It stated that Life imprisonment under Section 53 read with Section 45 of the I.P.C. means imprisonment till end of life (Gopal Vinayak Godse Vs. The State of Maharashtra & Ors, 1961 Latest Caselaw 9 SC)
However, the trial Court has emphasized it proposes to impose a heavier sentence on Monirul than Jiarul by imposing life imprisonment till death, that is to mean sentence of life imprisonment shall not be remitted or commuted till the death of the appellant, the Court mentioned.
To this, it observed that Trial Court has took task of the Higher Judiciary and has gone beyond its jurisdiction. Imposition of such a sentence, that is, life imprisonment without remission under section 433A of the Cr.P.C. cannot be imposed by the trial Court for the offence punishable under Section 302/34 of the I.P.C., it clarified citing V. Sriharan @ Murugan Vs. Union of India & Ors., 2014 Latest Caselaw 99 SC.
In the said case, a Constitution Bench held that such a sentence can be imposed only by the Supreme Court or by the High Court while converting a death sentence to one of life imprisonment. Even then, the Court’s discretion does not encroach on the constitutional powers of the President of India or the Governor under Article 72/161 of the Constitution of India respectively.
The Court also mentioned Gauri Shankar Vs. State of Punjab, 2021 Latest Caselaw 73 SC, wherein the Apex Court held such powers cannot be exercised by the trial Courts. Trial Court, therefore, fell in error in directing that Monirul shall suffer life imprisonment till his death, that is, life imprisonment without remission.
In view of the above, the Court modified the sentence imposed upon Monirul and directed that he shall suffer life imprisonment as prescribed under Section 53 read with Section 45 of the IPC and interpreted by the Apex Court in Gopal Vinayak Godse.
Case Title: Monirul Molla Vs. The State of West Bengal and Jiarul Molla @ Jiarul Ali Molla
Case Details: C.R.A. 604 of 2014 with C.R.A. 626 of 2014
Coram: Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Bivas Pattanayak
Read Judgement Here:
Share this Document :Picture Source :
