HC gives harsher punishment in infant’s ‘diabolical’ murder case

Cuttack: Terming the killing of a one-and-half-year-old boy by severing his head and hand as “not simply brutal, but extremely grotesque and diabolical” the Orissa high court modified life sentence in a 2014 murder case to rigorous imprisonment for a period of 20 years without remission.The incident took place at Kodia Kahania village under Sarankula police station limits in Nayagarh district on March 28, 2014. Villager Jyostna Sahoo was convicted in the case and sentenced to life imprisonment by the court of additional sessions judge, Nayagarh, on June 29, 2017. She challenged the trial court order in HC the same year. Criminal appeal was pending till HC delivered the judgment on August 16. The two-judge bench of Justice Debabrata Dash and Justice S K Panigrahi confirmed the conviction but said “the act was enough to shock our judicial conscience leading us to believe that the punishment for simple imprisonment for life would hardly be adequate or proportionate.” “Despite the abominable and diabolical nature of the crime committed by the appellant, the case would not fall under the category of rarest of rare so as to inflict the death penalty on the appellant. However, simple life imprisonment, according to us, would also not be commensurate with the crime as in effect, it may be restricted to only 14 years, which in our considered view would hardly be the adequate punishment in the case in hand,” the bench observed. “We therefore, hold that the sentence of imprisonment for life with a cap of 20 years for the case being tabled for remission before the State Sentence Review Board and further onward action would meet the ends of justice,” the bench said.

Tirupati court sentences three red sanders smugglers to one-year imprisonment

A Tirupati court sentenced three red sanders smugglers to one year of rigorous imprisonment and fined them Rs.10,000 each. If the fine is not paid, an additional three months will be added to their sentences. The accused were arrested in September 2014 and found guilty after a decade-long trial, according to Tirupati SP L Subba Rayudu.

Ajmer sex scandal: Pocso court hands life sentence to 6 more accused in 1992 case

A Pocso court in Jaipur sentenced six men to life imprisonment for their roles in the 1992 Ajmer sex scandal, involving the rape and blackmail of over 100 school and college girls. The court also imposed fines of Rs 5 lakh on each convict. The scandal led to the deaths of six girls by suicide due to torment.

6 remaining accused sentenced to life term in 1992 Ajmer rape-blackmail case

A Pocso court in Ajmer sentenced six individuals to life imprisonment for their involvement in the 1992 Ajmer rape and blackmail case. The court imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on each convict, totaling Rs 30 lakh, which will be distributed to the rape survivors. The district legal aid authority was directed to provide additional compensation to the survivors.