In Brief
Three individuals were convicted of kidnapping a 19-year-old student for ransom and murdering him. The trial court sentenced the principal accused, Swapan Kumar Jha, to death. The Supreme Court held the offence, though grave and premeditated, did not qualify as a 'rarest of rare case' warranting death. The Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment but, given Swapan Kumar's heightened culpability and the crime's severity, restricted his right to claim remission for 25 years. The other two accused's sentences of life imprisonment were upheld. The Court emphasized that life imprisonment remains the rule and death the exception.
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