#1 Death penalty must stay: Lahoti
In a clear rebuff to those pleading a relook at capital punishment, outgoing Chief Justice of India RC Lahoti on Tuesday firmly backed the provision of capital punishment and said perpetrators of bomb blasts like the ones that rocked the capital deserve no mercy.
"Which other penalty is required other than this (death penalty) for this dastardly act. What other punishment is called for. Ask the man who has masterminded this blast," Justice Lahoti, who retires as CJI on Monday, told reporters.
The Chief Justice's remarks are significant in the backdrop of President APJ Abdul Kalam's suggestion to the Government to take a "humanitarian view" on mercy petitions of death row convicts.
On the global debate against capital punishment, Justice Lahoti said keeping in view his judicial experience, he supported retention of capital punishment in the Indian Penal Code.
"The apex court, in its judgements, have made it clear that it should only be awarded in the rarest of the rare cases. Speaking for myself, I think that death penalty must continue to exist," he said adding that "we cannot go by what is happening in the Western countries".
The Chief Justice was responding to a query that a debate has gained momentum after President Kalam's suggestion that in cases of death sentence and mercy petition, humanitarian aspects should be considered.
Referring to Saturday blasts, Justice Lahoti wondered what other punishment should be inflicted on those "who terrorise the country by taking the lives of innocent citizen."
"How many innocent people have been killed and injured. Now if police investigates and are able to lay their hand on the persons and the mastermind behind the blast, please tell me what other penalty is required except the death penalty," he added.
"What happens is that we forget the past. Human memory fails. We forget the victims and we only see the accused before us. We look at his family. We forget the family of those killed, injured and totally uprooted and I am told of a family whose only surviving member is a small child," the Chief Justice said.
"People say that in the death penalty you cannot give the life back. Ask this man who is the mastermind behind this blast.... Can he give the life back of those killed? We forget thousands of those killed and think of only one person," Justice Lahoti said.
He disagreed with the view that only the poor become the victim of the death penalty and the rich get away."I do not agree with it at all," he said adding that "we only see the facts of the case and modus operandi while deciding the quantum of punishment." |
A Delhi Court on Monday awarded death sentence to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq convicted in the December 2000 Red Fort attack case. Additional Sessions Judge O P Saini awarded life imprisionment to two key conspirators Nazir Ahmed Qasid and his son Farooq Ahmed Qasid who were held guilty of waging war against the state along with Ashfaq. Ashfaq's Indian wife Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui, who was held guilty of harbouring the main accused, has been given a seven-year jail term.