Death penalty reserved for the rarest of rare cases; life sentence without remission may be imposed instead.

Death sentence is reserved for the rarest of rare cases and must rest on special reasons drawn from the gravity of the crime and the criminal; life imprisonment remains the normal rule. Where the case falls short of that threshold but ordinary life imprisonment would be grossly inadequate, the Court may commute death to life imprisonment and direct that the convict remain incarcerated for the remainder of natural life, without routine remission reducing the punishment to about fourteen years. The appeal therefore succeeded only on sentence, with capital punishment substituted by a life term without release for the rest of the convict's life.

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Issues: Whether the death sentence for murder should be confirmed or commuted to imprisonment for life with a direction that the convict shall not be released for the remainder of his natural life.

Analysis: The sentence of death is reserved for the rarest of rare cases and must rest on special reasons founded on the exceptionally grave circumstances of the crime and the criminal. The sentencing exercise must balance aggravating and mitigating circumstances, but the Court emphasized that life imprisonment is the normal rule and death an exception. It further held that a sentence of life imprisonment, when imposed as a substitute for death, may be directed to run for the remainder of the convict's natural life, because ordinary remission practice should not mechanically reduce such punishment to a term of about fourteen years. The Court recognised a lawful basis for imposing a special category of life sentence beyond remission in appropriate cases.

Conclusion: The death sentence was not confirmed; it was commuted to imprisonment for life with a direction that the appellant shall not be released from prison for the rest of his life.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded only on sentence, resulting in substitution of capital punishment by a life sentence of the kind directed by the Court.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a case falls short of the rarest of rare category but ordinary life imprisonment would be grossly inadequate, the Court may commute death to imprisonment for life and direct that the convict shall remain incarcerated for the remainder of natural life without the sentence being reduced by routine remission.

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