Mumbai, Mar 13 (UNI) A human rights activist today moved the designated TADA court here, opposing the CBI plea to award the death sentence to 44 people convicted in the 1993 serial blasts case.
Adv Sushan Kunjuraman, a human rights activist, today wrote letters to judge P D Kode and the Bombay High Court Chief Justice and contended that as per the law in one criminal trial, the court cannot award two punishments to an offender like death penalty and life imprisonment.
The letter was taken on court record and no order was passed, as yet.
Adv Kunjuraman said as per media reports, the CBI had sought capital punishment for 44 blasts convicts and if same plea is allowed by the court, it would undoubtedly cause grievious injustice upon the convicts and it was violative of Article 20(2) of the Consitution and Section 300 of the CrPC.
In his letter, he said the convicts had already spent 14 years in jail while facing trial and investigations but without any conviction.
Citing various laws, he drew attention of the court that as per the jail manual, every convict gets seven days remission in a month -- 84 days in a year. Thus, since they have spent 14 years in jail, they are entitled for remission of 1176 days, that is around three years and three months.
Thus, in effect, the convicted people have spent over 17 years in jail, he contended while pointing out that as per the law, life imprisonment meant in general sense a period of 14 to 20 years in the rarest of the rare cases. ''They, therefore, have already undergone a life imprisonment term and, so, cannot be awarded yet another punishment,'' he contended.
He cited Article 2(2) of the Consititution according to which no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once, while according to Section 300 of the CrPC, a person once convicted or acquitted, cannot be tried for the same offence again.
Further, Section 428 of the CrPC says the period of detention undergone, is to be set off against the sentence of imprisonment.
Therefore, as the convicted perople have already undergone a life sentence, if they are now awarded the capital punishment for the same offence, it would be highly objectionable, unsustainable and untenable in the eyes of law, he said.
UNI
Adv Sushan Kunjuraman, a human rights activist, today wrote letters to judge P D Kode and the Bombay High Court Chief Justice and contended that as per the law in one criminal trial, the court cannot award two punishments to an offender like death penalty and life imprisonment.
The letter was taken on court record and no order was passed, as yet.
Adv Kunjuraman said as per media reports, the CBI had sought capital punishment for 44 blasts convicts and if same plea is allowed by the court, it would undoubtedly cause grievious injustice upon the convicts and it was violative of Article 20(2) of the Consitution and Section 300 of the CrPC.
In his letter, he said the convicts had already spent 14 years in jail while facing trial and investigations but without any conviction.
Citing various laws, he drew attention of the court that as per the jail manual, every convict gets seven days remission in a month -- 84 days in a year. Thus, since they have spent 14 years in jail, they are entitled for remission of 1176 days, that is around three years and three months.
Thus, in effect, the convicted people have spent over 17 years in jail, he contended while pointing out that as per the law, life imprisonment meant in general sense a period of 14 to 20 years in the rarest of the rare cases. ''They, therefore, have already undergone a life imprisonment term and, so, cannot be awarded yet another punishment,'' he contended.
He cited Article 2(2) of the Consititution according to which no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once, while according to Section 300 of the CrPC, a person once convicted or acquitted, cannot be tried for the same offence again.
Further, Section 428 of the CrPC says the period of detention undergone, is to be set off against the sentence of imprisonment.
Therefore, as the convicted perople have already undergone a life sentence, if they are now awarded the capital punishment for the same offence, it would be highly objectionable, unsustainable and untenable in the eyes of law, he said.
UNI
Oneindia Login