Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence of a man to life in prison for killing a woman and a two-year-old girl in 2017.
A bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Shyam Chandak upheld the conviction of Deepak Jath but reduced his death sentence to life imprisonment.
Observation Made By The Bench
“We have held that the case does not fall under the category of rarest of rare. The penalty of death is not the only penalty that can be imposed in this case,” the bench said.
The HC was hearing a plea filed by the State government seeking confirmation of the death sentence of Jath. A death sentence can be executed only after the high court confirms the same.
Accused Convicted
In 2023, a sessions court convicted Jath and sentenced him to death saying that the crime committed by him falls under the rarest of rare category.
According to the prosecution, in April 2017, Jath poured some liquid on two women, a 17-year-old girl, and a two-year-old girl, and lit them on fire in Bandra. The two died due to burn injuries. Jath had earlier eve-teased the 17-year-old girl and was irked when he was admonished for the same.
In his defence, Jath argued that he was irked with the women as they had called him “hijda and chakka”.
