Delhi Court Sentences Woman to Life for 'Rare' Infanticide

A Delhi court has sentenced Leelawati to life imprisonment for the smothering deaths of her two daughters in 2018, labeling the act as cold-blooded murder and among the rarest of rare cases. The judge balanced the decision with the well-being of her two surviving children, opting against the death penalty.

A Delhi court has handed down a life sentence to a woman found guilty of smothering her two young daughters to death in 2018. The court described the crime as a 'cold-blooded murder' and among the rarest of rare cases.

The judge remarked that the heinous nature of the offense shocked the court's conscience, especially given the societal role of mothers as nurturing and self-sacrificing figures.

Judge Sachin Jain noted that although the crime warranted severe punishment, the decision for a life sentence over the death penalty considered the future and well-being of the woman's two surviving children, aged 7 and 2, and the possibility of her rehabilitation.