Karnataka HC modifies 3 convicts' death sentence to life imprisonment in double murder case

The division bench of Karnataka High Court stated that it is not a rarest of rare case and commuted the death sentence to life sentence and also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of the three. The trial court's verdict of death sentence had been referred to the high court for confirmation.

Bengaluru:The Karnataka High Court has quashed the death penalty awarded to three men convicted in a 2013 case of double murder. A division bench comprising Justice Srinivas Harish Kumar and Justice Ramachandra D Huddar ordered life imprisonment to the trio along with slapping a fine of Rs 25,000 on each.

At the same time, the court rejected the plea filed by the convicts, Babu, his brother Nagappa and relative Muthappa, seeking cancellation of the death sentence ordered by the trial court for murdering Sangeeta and Basavaraj. The death sentence was awarded to the trio by the Belagavi Sessions Court on June 15, 2022.

Sangita, Babu's wife, a resident of Mamadapayar in Chikkodi taluk of Belagavi, was suspected of having an illicit relationship with Basavaraj. On October 10, 2013, Babu along with Nagappa and Muthappa murdered Sangeetha and Basavaraju.

Rejecting the argument of the defence that that the murder was due to provocation, the bench said, "If the relationship between the deceased had developed within a couple of days of the incident, it can be said that it must have been provoked. However, the killers knew about the illicit relationship between the deceased. There was ample opportunity to take an appropriate decision in this regard. However, the accused committed the murder intentionally."

"Also, the evidence in the case reveals that this was a premeditated act. All the accused in the case dragged Basavaraju, who died during the incident, and Sangeeta, who had an illicit relationship with him, out of the house and tied them to a tree and beat them up in the presence of many villagers. It is clear that these developments were premeditated and not a hasty decision," the bench observed.

The court further stated that one of the convicts, Babu, who is Sangitha's husband, suffered due to his wife's illicit relationship with Basavaraju. "Whatever action is taken will become more important. Also, the case would have been different if only one accused had committed this act. However, if 2-4 people were involved with him, the case is different," the bench stated in its order. Stating that the present case is not a rarest of rare case, the bench commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment.

After the death sentence ordered death sentence to the trio, the case was referred to the High Court for confirmation while the convicts had also filed a petition challenging the order.

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