It refers to Supreme Court deciding to hear a review-petition by a murderer awarded for life-sentence on the plea that another accused in the same case with same charge-sheet was sentenced for just ten-year jail-term but by a different bench of the Apex Court. Episode reminds of Apex Court verdict just three days prior to infamous Delhi gang-rape of 16th December 2012, when the Apex Court surprisingly held that rape-cum-murder after consuming liquor was not rarest of rare because it was a crime committed in drunken state of mind. It is a common knowledge that such a convict leaves no mode of entertaining himself where drinking before rape is also a part of such composite crime. Evidently the said verdict would never have been endorsed by many other judges of the Supreme Court. There is another contrast case of supersonic rejection of fastest decided mercy-petition in just six record days of being filed hanging Ravji alias Ramchandra within less than three years of the crime only because poor Ravji could not afford lawyers to delay court-trials or even draft his mercy-petition that too when no court could prove motive of the murder of all his family-members by the insane person.
To end with such contrast verdicts by different benches of Apex Court, tradition may be formulated at Apex Court for discussion amongst all the judges in cases of crimes attracting death or life sentence before delivery of the verdict. It will also enable deciding judges to refer to earlier verdicts on similar crimes. Supreme Court judges should unanimously pass resolution for not admitting any review-petition after rejection of mercy-petition by the President. Supreme Court judges can also desire for time-bound decision on mercy-petitions subsequently time-bound execution in case of rejection of mercy-petitions.
SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL