Murder and rape after ‘drinking’ pardoned for death-sentence?

Division Bench of Supreme Court surprisingly reversed judgements of both the High Court and the Session Court when the Apex Court commuted death-sentence of the convict having murdered an old lady and raping her pregnant daughter-in-law on the ground that the convict was not in perfect mental-condition because of his being drunk at time of crime!

Criminals like murderers and rapists are usually drunk, and the logic taken by Supreme Court can make death-penalty irrelevant because anyone going to murder a person can consume liquor before committing the crime to avoid death-penalty.

Death-sentence being presently demanded for rapists will be totally meaningless because most such crimes are committed under influence of liquor.

Time has come when death-sentence may be commuted only in most exceptional cases rather than awarded in rarest of cases as at present, thus leaving a very little scope for courts to decline death-sentence for heinous crimes like murder and rape.

Due weightage should be given to sentiments of victims and their family-members before commuting death-sentence. Rather their consent should be a necessary compulsion in deciding mercy-petitions.