Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 21: Principal Sessions Judge Srinagar Abdul Rashid Malik today awarded life-imprisonment to one Mohammad Shoaib Darial, son of Mohammad Ashraf Darial of Nowhatta for committing murder of a girl namely Romana, daughter of Dr Javaid Shabnam of Srinagar on May 3, 2009.
After hearing Public Prosecutor AA Teli for the State whereas Advocate Mustaq Ahmed Dar for the accused, court observed, “the convict was very young at the time of the commission of the offence. There is nothing on record from which it can be deduced that accused cannot be reformed or rehabilitated or he will prove a menace for the society if not awarded the death penalty”.
“As laid down by Supreme Court brutality and manner in which murder was purported may be a ground but not the sole criteria for judging whether the case is rarest of rare cases. Every murder is brutal and difference between one from another may be on account of mitigating or aggravating features surrounding the murder”, the court said, adding “to conclude, on preparation of the balance sheet of mitigating and aggravating circumstances, length of detention for which the convict remained in custody and his age speak for the fact that the case cannot be bracketed as one of the rarest of rare case”.
Accordingly, court awarded imprisonment for life under Section 302 RPC and to an imprisonment of three months for commission of offence under Section 294 RPC. Both the sentences shall run concurrently, the court clarified, adding “execution of the sentence of life imprisonment shall be subject to confirmation of the High Court in terms of Section 374 of CrPC”.
Observing that criminal justice has to address the plight of the victim also, the court said, “mere punishment will not satisfy the victim who has suffered as a result of commission of the crime. She was killed so brutally but the real victims are her parents who saw her only moving her lips on the death bed in the hospital”.
“One cannot assess the shock and trauma caused to her parents, near and dear ones. No amount of compensation can repair the irreparable loss caused and in the instant case the convict has been behind the bars for the last more than ten years and a long incarceration has an effect upon his social and economic status”, the court further said, adding “in such a situation, he cannot be compelled to pay compensation to the victim but under the Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019 formulated by the Government Member Secretary, J&K State Legal Services Authority, shall release an amount of Rs 5 lakh in favour of the mother of the victim”.
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