Noting that kidnapping has become a lucrative and thriving industry all over the country, the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of two convicts who kidnapped and murdered a 16-year old school student in Punjab for a Rs 50 lakh ransom.
A bench of Justices H S Bedi and J M Panchal, however, took a lenient view of the role of Sonia, wife of one of the convicts Jasvir Singh and commuted her death penalty to life imprisonment as she had apparently acted under pressure of her husband.
Vikram Singh and Jasvir School abducted from Abhi Verma, a student of DAV School, Hoshiapur and the only son of goldsmith Ravi Verma, outside his school on February 14, 2005, when he was going to school in a car.
After the family failed to meet the Rs 50 lakh ransom demand, the kidnappers administered the boy a heavy dose of sedative substances resulting in his death.
The trial court had sentenced Jasvir, Sonia and Vikram to death and Punjab and Haryana High Court had confirmed the punishment, after which the convicts had moved the apex court.
Interpreting Section 364-A which provided for death or life imprisonment for offences relating to kidnapping, the apex court said the provision was enacted by way of an amendment by the Parliament to act as a deterrent on such offenders due to increasing number of such cases.
"We must also emphasise that in this tragic scenario and in the drawing of the balance sheet, the plight of the hapless victim and the abject terror that he must have undergone while in the grip of his kidnappers is often ignored," the apex court said, rejecting the convicts' plea for leniency as they were all young.
"Abhi Verma was only 16 years of age and had been picked up by Vikram Singh, who was known to him, but had soon realised the predicament he faced and had shouted for help. His terror can further be visualised when he would have heard the threatening calls to his father and seen the preparations to do away with him which included the taping of his mouth and the administration of an overdose of dangerous drugs."
"The horror, distress and the devestation felt in the family on the loss of an only son can only be imagined," Justice Bedi writing the judgment said.
The apex court rejected the plea of the three convicts for leniency on the ground that they were in their late 20s and the prosecution had relied on mere circumstantial evidence in establishing their guilt and that it was not a fit case for awarding death penalty.
"A plain reading of the objects and reasons which lead to the amendment shows the concern of Parliament in dealing with kidnapping for ransom a crime which called for a deterrent punishment even in a case where the kidnapping had not resulted in the death of the victim," it said.
The apex court said 'statistics further reveal that kidnapping for ransom has become a lucrative and thriving industry all over the country which must be dealt with in the harshest possible manner and an obligation rests on courts as well. Courts to lend a helpling hand in that direction.
"In the case before us, we find that not only was Abhi Verma kidnapped for ransom, an act which would by itself attract the death penalty, but he was murdered in the process," the bench said.
Referring to the frequent debate on the advisability of capital punishment, the apex court said as long as the penalty was there in the statute, courts are justified in awarding the same.
"There are the moralists who say that as God has given life, he alone has the right to take it away and this privilege cannot be usurped by any human being. There are others who believe that death sentence cannot be taken as a retributive or deterrent factor as statistics show the possibility of a death sentence has never acted as a deterrent to serious crime," SC noted.
"The theory which is widely accepted in India, however, is that as death penalty is in the statute book, it has to be awarded provided circumstances justify it," the apex court said.
In the present case, the apex court said though there was no direct eye witness to the murder the prosecution was able to marshal sufficient eye witnessess who had seen the boy being kidnapped by the duo.
Besides, various telephone call details, the prescription for sedative drugs and seizure of the boy's body from the duo's possession clearly established their guilt, the apex court said.
Referring to the woman's role, the bench said 'at the time when Abhi Verma had been kidnapped from outside the DAV school, Sonia had not been present and that she may have got embroiled in the conspiracy with her husband (Jasivr Singh) and Vikram Sing on account of having come under their pressure, some leniency must be shown to her."
Accordingly, the apex court altered her death sentence to life imprisonment while upholding the death sentence on the other two.
