DHARAM PAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner Dharam Pal, who has been awarded death sentence and has been in solitary confinement in various jails for the last about 18 years, has filed this petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, seeking direction to the respondents that in the facts and circumstances of the case his death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that initially, vide judgment dated 04.07.1992 passed by the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Sonepat, the petitioner was convicted under Sections 376/452 IPC in case FIR No. 11 dated 17.01.1991 registered at Police Station Sadar Sonepat, and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years. On 10.06.1993 at about 3.30 AM, when the petitioner was on bail in the aforesaid case, he along with his brother Nirmal Singh committed murder of five members of the family, who were related to the prosecutrix, for whose rape the petitioner was convicted. The petitioner and his brother Nirmal Singh were tried in case FIR No. 187 dated 10.06.1993 under Section 302/34 IPC, registered at Police Station Sadar Sonepat, for commission of multiple murders. Vide judgment dated 05.05.1997, the petitioner and his brother Nirmal Singh were convicted and awarded death sentence by the trial court. Vide judgment dated 29.09.1998 (Annexure P-1), passed by this court, the murder reference made by the trial court was answered in affirmative, whereas the appeal filed by the petitioner and his brother Nirmal Singh was dismissed, and their death sentence was confirmed.

(3.) Against the above said judgment, the petitioner and his brother Nirmal Singh filed appeal before the Apex Court. The Hon'ble Supreme Court, vide judgment dated 18.03.1999 (Annexure P-2), while taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner was convicted in rape case and had committed murder of members of the family of the prosecutrix, upheld the death sentence awarded to the petitioner. However, the death sentence awarded to his brother Nirmal Singh was commuted to life imprisonment, because he was not an accused in the rape case.