IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Decided On:
Appellants:
Vs.
Respondent:
Hon'ble Judges:
Counsels:
For Appellant/Petitioner/Plaintiff:
For Respondents/Defendant:
Subject:
JUDGMENT
1. Kuljeet Singh alias Ranga Khus, the petitioner herein, was convicted along with one Jasbir Singh alias Billa, by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi for various offences in connection with the murder of two young children, Geeta Chopra and her brother Sanjay. The two accused were sentenced to death for the offence under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code and to varying terms of imprisonment under Sections 363, 365, 366 and 376 read with Section 34 of the Code. The order of conviction and sentence, including the sentence of death, was confirmed by the Delhi High Court by its judgment dated November 16,1979, where-upon the two accused filed Special Leave Petitions 562 and 1739 of 1980 in this Court, challenging their conviction and sentence. Those Special Leave Petitions were dismissed on December 8, 1980 by a Bench of this Court consisting of Justice O., Chinappa Reddy, Justice Baharul Islam and one of us the Chief Justice. By this writ Petition, the petioner virtually asks for the re-appraisal of his case and a reconsideration of the dismissal of his Special Leave Petition. The thrust of the petition is against the sentence of death imposed on the petitioner.
2. By an order dated February 24, 1981 the learned Chamber Judge, Justice A.C. Gupta, had stayed the execution of the death sentence pending disposal of the Writ Petition. By an order dated March 23, 1981 we had directed that the petitioner should be produced on March 30 in the Chief Justice's Chamber and that the execution of the death sentence should be stayed until further orders. The petitioner was accordingly produced before us in the presence of his counsel, Shri R.K. Garg. Counsel for the Union of India and the Delhi Administration were also present. We questioned the petitioner on matters bearing, as we thought, on the question of sentence. We will refer to the result of that somewhat unusual exercise a little later.