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HC commutes death sentence of man who beheaded disabled brother over property row

Court upholds murder conviction but finds case does not meet rarest of rare standard, orders life term with a minimum of 20 years in custody

4 min readChandigarhDec 22, 2025 10:45 PM IST

Deepak, 40, the youngest of five siblings and confined to a wheelchair after an accident, was found dead in his Tohana house on June 18, 2020.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday commuted the death sentence awarded to Ashok Kumar for murdering and decapitating his younger brother Deepak in Tohana, Fatehabad, over a long-standing property dispute, substituting it with life imprisonment with a minimum actual term of 20 years.

A division bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara and Justice H.S. Grewal upheld Ashok’s conviction under Section 302 of the IPC but held that “the death sentence awarded by the trial Court to the appellant under Section 302 IPC is commuted and altered to life imprisonment with the stipulation that the convict Ashok Kumar shall not be released on remission or otherwise, unless he has undergone 20 years of actual sentence in prison or in custody”.

Deepak, 40, the youngest of five siblings and confined to a wheelchair after an accident, was found dead in his Tohana house on June 18, 2020, with his torso lying in blood and his severed head missing from the scene. The court noted that the post-mortem found that “the cause of death was identified as the severing of the head, specifically the chopping off of major vessels”, which was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature.

The bench recorded that their mother, Atma Devi, had bequeathed the 173-square-yard house in Tohana exclusively to Deepak through a will, and held that Ashok “was harboring a deep-seated grudge against his brother Deepak, which would give him motive to commit the crime of murdering his brother”.

Inadequate evidence

While the trial court had relied, among other things, on last-seen evidence, the High Court ruled that the alleged statement of key witness Surjeet about Ashok’s presence with Deepak on the previous night was “pure hearsay” when led through Deepak’s sister Sushma and “legally inadmissible” in the absence of Surjeet’s testimony or a statement under Section 164 CrPC. The bench held that “the prosecution has failed to establish the fact that the accused was last seen or present at the house of the deceased Deepak till 8:00 pm”.

Instead, the court anchored the conviction in Ashok’s extra-judicial confessions to his nephew Hemant Bharti and local doctor Ashok Kumar, captured through call transcripts and corroborated by call detail records from his mobile phone.

The judgment sharply criticised the investigation, particularly the failure to exploit forensic leads that could have independently established Ashok’s presence at the crime scene. Calling the recovery of a bloodstained vest from the bathroom of Deepak’s house “the most significant evidence”, the bench observed that investigators “relied more on mortal humans than on indestructible science” by not sending the garment for DNA profiling.

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The court noted that while the vest bore human blood, “the prosecution did not discharge its burden to connect the vest with Deepak and link it to Ashok, and the mere presence of human blood on the vest is insufficient unless the vest was connected with the accused Ashok, which was not done”. I

Why death was not justified

On sentencing, the bench surveyed Supreme Court jurisprudence on the death penalty, including Bachan Singh, Machhi Singh, Santosh Bariyar and subsequent rulings, reiterating that “awarding of life sentence is a rule and death is an exception” and that the “rarest of rare” test requires consideration of both the crime and the criminal.

Observing that the killing arose from a family property dispute and amounted to “personal revenge, not social revenge”, the court held there was “no evidence on record to suggest that the appellants would be a menace and threat to the harmonious and peaceful co-existence of the society”. It treated Ashok’s age of over 60, the absence of any allegation of violent conduct in prison, and reported cardiovascular and psychological issues after the death sentence as mitigating factors that “would not justify the imposition of capital punishment”.

“In our opinion, the mitigating factors that would not justify the imposition of a capital sentence are that the motive for killing his brother was a property dispute, and it was the convict’s personal revenge, not social revenge,” the bench observed.

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Modified sentence and compensation

While commuting the death sentence under Section 302 IPC, the court enhanced the fine from Rs 20,000 to Rs 5 lakh and ordered that Ashok “shall not be released from prison until he has completed 20 years of actual sentence”.

Manraj Grewal Sharma

Manraj Grewal Sharma is a senior journalist and the Resident Editor of The Indian Express in Chandigarh, where she leads the newspaper’s coverage of north India’s most politically and institutionally significant regions. From Punjab and Haryana to Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, she oversees reporting at the intersection of governance, law, politics and society. She also reports on the diaspora, especially in Canada and the US. With a career spanning journalism across several countries, academia and international development, Manraj brings a rare depth of perspective to regional reporting. She is widely regarded as a leading chronicler of Punjab’s contemporary history and socio-political evolution, particularly its long shadow of militancy, federal tensions and identity politics. Her book, Dreams after Darkness, remains a definitive account of the militancy years and their enduring aftermath. Professional Background & Expertise A gold medalist in mass communication and a post-graduate in English literature, Manraj has a multifaceted career spanning journalism, academia, and international development. She was also awarded a fellowship by National Foundation of India and did several in-depth pieces on Manipur. Internationally, she has reported from Israel, US, UK, Myanmar, and Mauritius Her key focus areas include: Regional Politics, History, Agriculture, Diaspora, and Security. Of late, she has started focusing on Legal & Judicial Affairs: Much of her recent work involves reporting on high-stakes cases in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, ranging from environmental policy to civil rights. International Consulting: She previously served as a consulting editor for the Asia Pacific Adaptation Network and a publishing consultant for the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. Academia: For five years, she was the managing editor of Gender, Technology and Development, a peer-reviewed international journal at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reportage focuses heavily on judicial interventions and regional governance: 1. Environment & Governance "‘NGT can’t test legality of policy’: HC hears challenge to Punjab’s ‘Green Habitat’ plan" (Dec 22, 2025): Covering a critical legal battle over whether the National Green Tribunal has the authority to strike down a state policy regularizing farmhouses on delisted forest land. "High court pulls up Punjab poll panel over audio clip probe" (Dec 10, 2025): Reporting on judicial concerns regarding the transparency and fairness of local body elections. 2. Legal Rights & Social Welfare "HC issues notice to Punjab, Haryana over delay in building old age homes" (Dec 22, 2025): Reporting on a contempt petition against top officials for failing to establish government-run homes for the elderly as promised in 2019. "Victims can appeal acquittals in sessions court without seeking special leave" (Dec 19, 2025): Highlighting a significant procedural shift in criminal law following a Supreme Court ruling. "HC upholds benefits for Punjab FCI officer acquitted in 20-year-old bribery case" (Dec 19, 2025): A report on the concept of "honourable acquittal" and its impact on employee benefits. 3. Human Rights & Identity "As Punjab denies parole to MP Amritpal Singh, HC asks it to submit ‘foundational material’" (Dec 1, 2025): Covering the legal proceedings regarding the radical preacher and sitting MP's request to attend Parliament. "Protecting life paramount: HC backs Muslim woman in live-in after verbal divorce" (Nov 6, 2025): Analyzing judicial protections for personal liberty in the context of traditional practices. Signature Beats Manraj is recognized for her ability to decode complex judicial rulings and relate them to the everyday lives of citizens. Whether it is a 30-year-old land battle in Fazilka or the political implications of Kangana Ranaut’s candidacy in Mandi, her writing provides deep historical and regional context. Contact @grewal_sharma on X manrajgrewalsharma on Instagram ... Read More

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