In Brief
In this special leave petition in a death sentence case, the Supreme Court examined whether the trial court and High Court properly complied with Section 235(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which requires hearing the accused on sentencing before imposing judgment. Finding that neither court had properly applied this provision or adequately considered mitigating circumstances, the Court held that such non-compliance vitiates the sentence. Rather than remanding the case, the Court adopted an alternative approach: it directed the accused to file affidavits setting out mitigating circumstances, allowed their counsel access to visit them in jail, and fixed a future date for hearing arguments on sentence. This ensured procedural compliance while allowing the conviction to be re-examined on the question of appropriate punishment in accordance with the 'rarest of rare' doctrine governing death sentences."
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