Supreme Court's Verdict: Life Sentence Replaces Death Penalty in Maharashtra Murder Case

The Supreme Court replaced a death penalty with life imprisonment for an individual convicted of dacoity and murder in Maharashtra. The bench upheld the conviction but overturned the high court's capital punishment decision, citing that the case didn't qualify as 'rarest of rare cases'.

The Supreme Court has replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment for Shivkumar Ramsundar Saket, convicted of dacoity and murder of a couple in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The bench comprising Justices BR Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and KV Viswanathan restored the trial court's 2013 order and annulled the high court's death sentence.

The bench, however, affirmed the conviction, agreeing with the trial and high courts' assessment of the evidence. In its September 26 order, the apex court saw no reason to question the judgment and conviction passed by the lower courts, describing them as 'well-reasoned'.

While sustaining Saket's conviction, the Supreme Court noted that his involvement was comparable to that of other accused in the case, which involved the murder of Ramesh Munot and Chitra Munot in 2007. The decision underscores the principle that the death penalty should be reserved for the 'rarest of rare cases'.

(With inputs from agencies.)