The Allahabad High Court, India, commuted nine out...

The Allahabad High Court, India, commuted nine out of thirteen death sentences and acquitted the four remaining convicts of their death sentences. In the first case Sambhal Singh, Jagmohan Singh, Krishna Mohan Singh and Hari Mohan Singh had their December 17, 2002 death sentences reduced to life for murdering four members of a family. The same bench reduced the death sentences of Paras Singh and Addya Singh to life and quashed the death sentences of Gopal Dubey, Mahajan Singh and Bichari Singh which had been issued on June 11, 2002 for murder. In a third case the death penalties awarded to Rajbir and Manphool by the an Additional Sessions Court on October 1, 2002 were commuted into life imprisonment. The two had been convicted of the murder of five close relatives on August 26, 2002. In a separate case the death sentence issued to Raghuwar Dayal on 23 May, 2003, was reduced to life imprisonment. Dayal had been sentenced to death for strangulating one Kalawati after raping her. In the last case, Satish was acquitted of the murder and rape of a minor girl, Vishakha. The high court set aside his punishment as the prosecution failed to prove the guilt.