RG Kar & Greeshma case: The death penalty debate | LME 59
In the last few days, we have seen two criminal courts in two different parts of the country give judgments- that have sparked a lot of debate.
In West Bengal, 33- year-old Sanjay Roy, Civic Volunteer of Kolkata Police was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a 31-year old doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
In Kerala, 24 year old Greeshma was sentenced to death for the pre-meditated murder of her boyfriend 23-year-old Sharon.
In Kerala, there are many rejoicing the death penalty .
In West Bengal, there are protests. Even Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that Sanjay Roy should have been given the death penalty.
So this brings up the question–
How do courts in our country decide who deserves the death penalty? Both the judges heavily relied on the same Supreme Court guidelines. So why are the judgements so different?
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In India, life imprisonment is the rule and death penalty is an exception. It must be given only when life imprisonment appears to be an inadequate punishment- that is in the rarest of rare cases.
What is ‘rarest of the rare’? How is it decided? Are there guidelines?
The doctrine of ‘rarest of the rare’ was established by the Supreme Court in 1980, in the case Bachan singh v state of Punjab.
Bachan Singh first murdered his wife and went to jail for 14 years
After his release from jail, he went on to kill 3 children of his cousin.
While giving him the death penalty for his second offense, the SC laid down guidelines. Five main things are considered:
Manner in which crime is committed, if there is cruelty and if it is unimaginable, etc
Second is the Motive is it a cold blooded pre-planned crime or not
Socially abhorrent nature of crime – if the victim was from a backward caste/crime was done as part of a deep seated social bias or if there was an intention to dehumanise
Then, the Magnitude of the crime –if multiple crimes were done together along with a murder/rape etc
Also the Personality of victim, was it a child or old person, a person with disability, etc
Courts typically consider whether the crime was so shocking and inhumane that a life sentence would seem like an inadequate punishment. In such cases, the idea is that the death penalty must serve as a message to society as well.
So what the court does is weigh the aggravating circumstances and mitigating circumstances against each other.
What does that mean?
Aggravating factors are the ones that make an offence more severe. That is, a pre-planned crime is worse than a crime committed for self defense. It also looks at the severity of the crime, vulnerability of the victim, etc
Mitigating factors, on the other hand, are the ones that reduce the severity of the offence. These are the ones that give context to the crime and might seek the court to be compassionate. That is if the crime was committed because the convict had no choice, whether the convict has a history of committing crimes, their socioeconomic backgrounds, etc
Let me also remind you here, when a death penalty is pronounced by a sessions court, it goes to the High Court, which should confirm the sentence.
Now let me take you through RG Kar and Sharon roy Greeshma cases
The trial in Sharon Raj’s murder was conducted at the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge AM Basheer’s court.
Greeshma and Sharon fell in love in October 2021. By March 2022, she was engaged to another man. But very soon she rekindled the relationship and the two did a marriage-like ritual. But as the time of her wedding to the other man approached, Greeshma tried to kill Sharon once by giving him a high dose of paracetamol. When that plan didn't work out, she researched about poison and used a herbicide with paraquat - an organic toxic compound. She mixed it in an ayurvedic concoction and challenged him to drink it.
The judge has given a lengthy explanation of why he was choosing to give the death penalty to Greeshma.
He said the manner of commission of crime was extremely brutal. He also said that she could not prove that Sharon was blackmailing her with their intimate pictures.
So it was premeditated, there was no provocation and she had a clear motive.
Was it a socially abhorrent crime? The judge repeatedly mentions that Greeshma offered sex and made Sharon come to her place. He also said that she searched 23 times on Google about poisoning.
The judge says Greeshma murdering in this manner has spread the message among youth that a girl can easily kill her boyfriend after breaking their relationship.
He also said- The offence was committed with an intention to create fear, psychosis in the public at large and it created panic among lovers and friends. It gave a message that a lover cannot be believed.
And since a lot of people have live-in relationships these days, ‘use and throw’ of a partner will send the wrong message to society.
The victim Sharon Raj was a student who was deeply in love and believed her blindly. Even at the death bed he stated that he had no complaint against her because he did not want to punish her.
The judge called Greeshma mentally defective and devilish.
And the final question- can Greeshma, a 24-year old student be reformed? The judge said no. Such a person cannot be reformed. There is no guarantee that she will not mix poison again in any other relationship.
The trial in the Kolkata RG Kar doctor’s rape and murder case was conducted at the court of Additional Sesions Judge Anirban Das
The trial began on 8th October and was completed quickly.
The judge found that Sanjay Roy was present at the hospital and the seminar room during the time of the assault. There was CCTV footage of him at the hospital, his DNA and hair was found on her body.
So how did the judge decide the quantum of punishment?
Judge Anirban Das says that the brutality of the crime was a primary consideration.
Sanjay Roy strangulating, smothering and sexually assaulting the doctor, the judge says. demonstrates a level of cruelty that goes beyond the pale of ordinary criminal behaviour.
The judge also agreed that the victim was helpless in this case.
He also noted that the societal impact of such a crime is huge and the ripple effects extend far beyond the immediate victims and their families
There were also no mitigating circumstances. Sanjay Roy was not unwell, nor did he have any mental illness.
The judge said Sanjay Roy’s actions were barbaric and brutal.
So why did judge Anirban Das give Sanjay Roy life imprisonment and not the death penalty?
He says the court should maintain its objectivity and impartiality, focus on facts and evidence, and not get swayed by public sentiment.
He noted that there is no evidence of prior criminal behaviour or misconduct by the convict.
He also noted that this was not a premeditated crime. Sanjay Roy who had consumed alcohol and gone to a red light area just hours before, came to the hospital and picked a convenient victim. There was no motive, it was lust.
The judge concluded that the measure of a civilised society does not lie in exacting revenge, but in its capacity to reform, rehabilitate and to heal. We must rise above the primitive instinct of "an eye for an eye" or “a tooth for a tooth” or “nail for a nail" or “a life for a life".
These are the reasons the two judges used. I don’t want to give any opinion on this show. There is of course a larger debate on whether civilised societies should have the death penalty. And even if you are okay with the death penalty, who are the people who deserve a chance to reform?
And the biggest problem is that such punishments are given subjectively
Sooraj S Kumar who killed his wife Uthara using a cobra was given double life imprisonment
Dhasvanth who raped and killed a 7-year-old in Chennai was given death penalty and it was stayed. The case is pending
Shyamjith who stalked a woman named Vishnupriya in Kerala and slit her throat in her bedroom was given life term
I will leave you with a few numbers; At the end of 2023, 561 death row prisoners were in jails across India.
And in Kerala, as of 2023 December 31, there were 23 persons on death row.
References
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Produced by Megha Mukundan, edited by Nikhil Sekhar