SWAMY SHRADDANANDA ALIAS MURALI MANOHAR MIS Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Death to a cold blooded murderer or life, albeit subject to severe restrictions of personal liberty, is the vexed question that once again arises before this court. A verdict of death would cut the matter cleanly, apart from cutting short the life of the condemned person. But a verdict of imprisonment for life is likely to give rise to certain questions. (Life after all is full of questions!). How would the sentence of imprisonment for life work out in actuality The Court may feel that the punishment more just and proper, in the facts of the case, would be imprisonment for life with life giyen its normal meaning and as defined in section 45 of the Indian Penal Code. The Court may be of the view that the punishment of death awarded by the trial court and confirmed by the High Court needs to be substituted by life imprisonment, literally for life or in any case for a period far in excess of fourteen years. The Court in its judgment may make its intent explicit and state clearly that the sentence handed over to the convict is imprisonment till his last breath or, life permitting, imprisonment for a term not less than twenty, twenty five or even thirty years. But once the judgment is signed and pronounced, the execution of sentence passes into the hands of the executive and is governed by different provisions of law. What is the surety that the sentence awarded to the convict after painstaking and anxious deliberation would be carried out in actuality The sentence of imprisonment for life, literally, shall not by application of different kinds of remission, turn out to be the ordinary run of the mill life term that works out to no more than fourteen years. How can the sentence of imprisonment for life (till its full natural span) given to a convict as a substitute for the death sentence be viewed differently and segregated from the ordinary life imprisonment given as the sentence of first choice These are the questions that arise for consideration in this case.

(2.) The conviction of the appellant, Swamy Shardanannda @ Murali Manohar Mishra under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code has attained finality and is no longer open to scrutiny. The appellant was convicted by the learned XXV City Sessions Judge, Bangalore City, under the aforesaid two sections by judgement and order dated 20 May, 2005 in SC No.212/1994. The Sessions Judge sentenced him to death for the offence of murder and to a term of five years rigorous imprisonment and fine of rupees ten thousand for causing disappearance of evidences of the offence; in default of payment of fine the direction was to undergo simple imprisonment for one year. The appellant's appeal (Criminal Appeal No. 1086 of 2005) against the judgment and order passed by the trial court and the reference made by the Sessions Judge under section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Criminal Referred Case No.6 of 2005) were heard together by the Karnataka High Court. The High Court confirmed the conviction and the death sentence awarded to the appellant and by judgment and order dated 19 September, 2005 dismissed the appellant's appeal and accepted the reference made by the trial court without any modification in the conviction or sentence. Against the High Court judgment the appellant has come to this Court in this appeal. The Appeal was earlier heard by a bench of two judges. Both the honourable judges unanimously upheld the appellant's conviction for the two offences but they were unable to agree to the punishment meted out to the appellant. S. B. Sinha J. felt that in the facts and circumstances of the case the punishment of life imprisonment, rather than death would serve the ends of justice. He, however, made it clear that the appellant would not be released from prison till the end of his life. M. Katju J., on the other hand, took the view that the appellant deserved nothing but death. It is thus on the limited, though very important and intractable question of sentence that this appeal has come before us.

(3.) This takes us to the facts of the case that has all the elements of high drama. It has a man's vile greed coupled with the devil's cunning; a woman's craving for a son, coupled with extreme credulity and gullibility and a daughter's deep and abiding love for her mother coupled with remarkable perseverance to see through the lies behind her mother's mysterious disappearance. But a man's life cannot be decided in three sentences and we must see the prosecution case, as established up to this court in some greater detail.