INDIA. HIGH COURT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE TO LIFE TERM

taking a lenient view of the age of a man sentenced to death in a murder case, the Delhi High Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.
The judges were of the view that multiple stab injuries on the victim was not a reason to hang the convict. Sushil Kumar’s age and family background should have been considered while awarding him the punishment, the court said.
"The murder is no doubt cold-blooded and cruel, yet we feel that the appellant — who was only 21 years of age and the only bread-winner in the family — can be spared the death penalty...," held the judges.
The court was not convinced with the lower court's verdict that there was no alternative but to impose death penalty on the accused. If there are chances of rehabilitation, the high court felt, it was necessary to take its recourse rather than sentencing the man to death.
Sushil Kumar had been sentenced to death on August 9, 2005. According to the prosecution, Kumar and his accomplice stabbed a woman and her two-year-old daughter in Sarita Vihar on January 28, 2002.
In his disclosure statement, Kumar admitted that he killed the two due to business rivalry with the woman's husband. The accused was running a tailoring unit and the victim's husband was his competitor.