Supreme Court Reduces Death Sentence for Shivkumar Ramsundar Saket, Dismisses Other Appeals... published at LexSonic.

Supreme Court Reduces Death Sentence for Shivkumar Ramsundar Saket, Dismisses Other Appeals.

26 September 2024 Criminal Appeals & Suspension of Sentence >> Criminal Law

In a set of criminal appeals, the Supreme Court examined the convictions and death sentences imposed on the appellants. The defense argued that key evidence, particularly the testimony of witness PW.4, was unreliable and insufficient to link appellant Shivkumar Ramsundar Saket to the crime, and that the death penalty imposed on him was unjustified.

Criminal Law-Criminal Appeals and Suspension of Sentence

The prosecution, however, maintained that a clear chain of circumstantial evidence established the guilt of the accused. While the Court upheld the convictions, it found that the High Court had erred in imposing the death penalty on Saket, noting that the case did not qualify as a "rarest of rare" case. As a result, the death sentence was set aside and the Trial Court's sentence was restored. The appeal of Rajeshsingh Hariharsingh Thakur was abated due to his death.