Session courts can’t impose life imprisonment till natural death on a murder convict: Karnataka HC

Section 428 of the Criminal Procedure Code mandates that “where an accused has, on conviction, been sentenced to imprisonment for a term… the period of detention, if any, undergone by him during the

investigation, inquiry or trial of the same case and before the date of such conviction, shall be set off against the term of imprisonment imposed on him on such conviction, and the liability of such person to

undergo imprisonment on such a conviction shall be restricted to the remainder, if any, of the term of imprisonment imposed on him”.

According to the prosecution, in April 2017, Rudresh killed the child of the complainant, who was a devotee and regular visitor of the mutt, out of hatred, as the complainant and her mother used to advise him with regard to the affairs of the said mutt.

The trial court, after examining the evidence, convicted him of murder and kidnapping in November 2017, within three months of the commencement of the trial.

In his appeal, the accused challenged both the conviction and the sentence, arguing that the Supreme Court has held that the power to impose life imprisonment without remission rests solely with constitutional courts, not with sessions courts.

Referring to the evidence presented before the trial court and the conclusion drawn by it, the bench said, “Though the case rests upon circumstantial evidence, the circumstances against the accused are proved with regard to motive, preparation, and recovery of the dead body. Medical evidence and scientific evidence also go against the accused.”

With regard to the sentence imposed by the trial court, the bench, on consideration of the charges levelled, gravity of offence and nature of offence committed, noted, “The motive for committing the murder is only hatredness against PW 1, the mother of the deceased, PW 2, the grandmother of the deceased, and PW 4, the great-grandmother of the deceased.”

In its order, the bench also noted that the sentence imposed by the trial court would have rendered the accused ineligible for remission.