New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentence awarded to a Tamil Nadu man for the kidnapping and murdering of a seven-year-old boy in 2009.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha upheld the conviction but set aside the death penalty and commuted it to 20 years imprisonment without any reprieve.
Commuting the death penalty, the bench said, "Applicant is a convict on death row. Petition to have a re-look at his conviction on the basis of Mohammed Arif's judgment where it was held review must be held in open court. We see no reason in doubting the guilt of the petitioner. Exercising powers under review to interfere with conviction is not warranted. We commute the death sentence to imprisonment of 20 years."
The crime dates back to 2009 when the victim was accosted by the convict while on his way to school. As per the prosecution, the convict informed the boy that his mother and grandmother were not well and he should accompany him to the hospital. As per the witnesses, the boy was last seen alive getting on the motorbike of the convict.
The boy was the sole "male child" of his parents, who were unable to pay Rs 5 lakh ransom for the child's release. The convict had acknowledged that the boy was strangulated when the ransom was not paid for his release and the body was put in a gunny bag and thrown into a water tank. (ANI)
