NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a plea of a death row convict seeking that review petitions filed by him and other condemned prisoners against their sentence be heard in open court instead of being decided by judges in chambers.
A bench of justices P Sathasivam and J S Khehar will also decide the plea that all death penalty matters in the apex court be heard by a bench of five judges as recommended by the Law Commission.
The court meanwhile stayed the execution of death sentence of the petitioner Sundarrajan whose review petition on its judgement for upholding his death sentence is pending before the apex court.
It also issued notices to the Centre and the Supreme Court Registrar on the petition seeking amendment of Supreme Court Rules for allowing hearing of review pleas of death row convicts in open court.
The apex court had on February 5 upheld the death sentence slapped on Sundarrajan by courts below in Tamil Nadu for kidnapping and strangulating a seven-year old boy to death in 2009 when Rs five lakh ransom demand for the child’s release was not paid.
He has pleaded that the safeguard of hearing review petitions in open court is required as “it would be the final barrier against judicial errors resulting in loss of life.”
“The recommendation in the Law Commission report that all death penalty matters in the Supreme Court be heard by a bench of five judges be implemented and, in the alternative, at the least three judges ought to hear criminal appeals where capital punishment is involved,” he has said in his petition filed through advocate Renjith B Marar.
“It is submitted that where life itself is at stake, the fact that the consequence of an error which may be irreversible is grave, and sets death penalty cases distinguishable as a class apart from other cases where review petitions may be disposed of in circulation,” Sundarrajan, who hails from Tamil Nadu, has said.
Sundarrajan had kidnapped class II student Suresh from his school at Karkudal village in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu and asked for Rs five lakh ransom from family members of the boy.
Later on, he had strangulated the boy to death when the ransom was not paid for his release and the body was put in a gunny bag and thrown into a water tank.
Sundararajan was apprehended by the police and put on trial for the offence of murder and kidnapping. The trial court convicted him and sentenced him to death which was upheld by the Madras High Court.
He had then approached the apex court challenging his conviction and death sentence.
The apex court, after hearing his contention, came to the conclusion that he failed to bring out even “a single mitigating circumstance” to interfere in the death sentence.
“Kidnapping of a child was committed with the motive of carrying home a ransom. On account of the non-payment of ransom, a minor child’s murder was committed. This fact demonstrates that the accused had no value for human life. The instant circumstance demonstrates extreme mental perversion not worthy of human condonation,” the bench had said.
“The accused caused the murder of child of 7 years. The facts and circumstances of the case do not depict any previous enmity between the parties. There is no grave and sudden provocation, which had compelled the accused to take the life of an innocent child. The murder of a child, in such circumstances makes this a case of extreme culpability,” the bench had said. (PTI)
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