According to the Court, the death penalty is the unusual and life in prison is the norm.
The death sentence of a guy who was charged with killing a female in a hotel room was recently mitigated by the Calcutta High Court [State of West Bengal v Samar Patra].
Even though Samar Patra's involvement in Durga Rani Majhi Barui's murder has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, a Division Bench of Justices Md. Shabbar Rashidi and Debangsu Basak stated that he still has the opportunity to change.
The Court reaffirmed that the death penalty is the exception and life in prison is the norm.
Given the previous discussions, we believe that, given the facts and circumstances of this case, life in prison would be a more appropriate punishment than the death penalty. We do not want to uphold the death penalty that the learned Trial Court imposed. In light of this, we commute the appellant's death sentence to life in prison," the Bench stated.
In order to uphold the sentence imposed by the trial court, the High Court was considering a death reference.
The trial court had found Patra guilty of killing Barui in a hotel room.
Police say that in April 2018, Patra and Barui remained in a hotel room in Bakkhali village in the South 24 Parganas area. The woman's body was found in the room the following day, while Patra had run away.
Patra argued that he fled because he was afraid of being implicated and that the woman killed herself by hanging while he was sleeping in the same room.
Nevertheless, the argument was dismissed by both the High Court and the trial court.
It was assumed that the appellant, being a man of average caution, would have contacted hotel management and reported the incident to the police. Rather than using the door, the appellant escaped by taking off the windowpanes, leaving the room's door locked from the inside. It is impossible to believe the appellant's claims because of the victim's subsequent actions, which reveal its veracity. The Court noted that such elements "convincingly establish the sole hypothesis of the appellant's guilt to the exclusion of all others."
As a result, the Bench maintained Patra's conviction but substituted life in prison for the death penalty.
For Samar Patra, advocates Supriyo Shasmal and Soumik Ganguli made an appearance.
Public Prosecutor (PP) Debasish Roy, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Rudradipta Nandy, and Santanu Talukdar represented the state.
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