DEATH SENTENCE EXCESSIVE, SAY SHAKTI MILLS RAPE CONVICTS

MUMBAI: The convicts in the Shakti Mills rape case, who were given a death sentence by a special court under section 376E of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), told the Bombay high court on Thursday that the order was disproportionate and such a sentence was only meant for murder.

A division bench of justices B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite Dere was hearing the writ petition filed by the three convicts of the Shakti Mills rape case — Mohammad Salim Ansari, Mohammad Kasim Shaikh and Vijay Jadhav— who had been sentenced to death in 2014. Senior counsel Dr Yug Choudhry, appearing for the convicts, said the unconstitutional nature of the amended law stated that: “Whoever has been previously convicted of an offence punishable under section 376 or section 376A or section 376D and is subsequently convicted of an offence punishable under any of the said sections shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with death.” Choudhry told the HC that the law was disproportionate as it denied the right to life and a chance for rehabilitation.

He said that though rape was a serious crime, it was not equivalent to murder as it did not involve loss of life. He also referred to various judgements by the SC and the US courts wherein the death sentence was only meted out in the rarest of rare case. Though the accused were convicted multiple times for rape, it did not result in the loss of life and hence, it was not the rarest of rare case, he said. The court is will continue hearing the arguments on Friday. K A Y DODHIYA