INDIA: DEATH SENTENCE REFERRED TO SUPREME COURT BENCH

the Indian Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Ramesh Bhai Chandi Bhai Rathod for the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Surat district of Gujarat in 1999. However, the two presiding judges, Justice Pasyat and Justice Ganguly, disagreed on the appropriateness of the death sentence, so the case was referred to a larger bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan. Rathod was awarded death sentence by a fast track court in Surat and it was confirmed by the Gujarat High Court.