Court sentences 2 men to life term in murder case

New Delhi, Jul 14 (PTI) A Delhi court has sentenced two men to life imprisonment in a 2017 murder case underlining the "serious" nature of the offence in which the victim was abducted and murdered.

Additional sessions judge Vandana was hearing the arguments on sentencing against Navrattan alias Kale and Naushad, both convicted for murder, abduction and causing disappearance of evidence in November last year.

Additional public prosecutor Vineet Dahiya said the convicts deserved no leniency for the brutal murder.

In an order on July 4, the court said, "Nature of offence committed in the present case is very serious. The deceased Om Hare was kidnapped by convicts with premeditated planning and brutally murdered. Thereafter, his body was disposed of by both convicts." The object of the law, the court said, was the protection of society, and "stamping out criminal proclivity" which could be achieved by imposing an appropriate sentence after considering the nature of the offence and how it was committed.

"The criminal law adheres in general to the principle of proportionality in prescribing liability according to the culpability of each kind of criminal conduct. Proportion between crime and punishment is a goal respected in principle," the verdict said.

The court, however, found the offence not within the purview of the "rarest of rare" therefore attracting capital punishment.

The convicts were sentenced to simple imprisonment for life under Section 302 (murder) of IPC. PTI MNR MNR AMK AMK