The Delhi High Court today commuted the death penalty awarded to two convicts in the 2009 Jigisha Ghosh murder case to life imprisonment.
A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta, however, upheld the life imprisonment awarded to the third convict by a trial court in the case.
"We commute death sentence awarded to two convicts to life imprisonment," the bench said.
While convicts Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla were handed down death penalty by the trial court in 2016, the third offender Baljeet Malik was given reprieve from the gallows for his good conduct in jail and awarded life imprisonment for murder of the IT executive and other counts.
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While sentencing the two to death, the trial court had said the 28-year-old woman was killed in a "cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner" and "brutally mauled to death".
The police had claimed robbery was the motive behind the killing.
While seeking setting aside of the conviction and order on sentence for Shukla and Malik, their advocate Amit Kumar had contended before the HC that the trial court had committed error by awarding death penalty and life imprisonment to his clients respectively, simply on the basis of biased jail/ probation report about the both.
Following is the chronology of
events in the Jigisha Ghosh murder case in which the Delhi High Court today commuted the death penalty awarded to two men to life imprisonment"
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Mar 18, 2009: Jigisha was abducted by four men in a car little away from her home after she was dropped by her office cab at 4 AM.
Mar 21: She was found dead near Surajkund in Faridabad.
Mar 25: Delhi Police nabs four men for their alleged involvement in Jigisha's murder. Cops also solve the murder case of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, who was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while she was returning home by her car from office in the early hours.
June 2009: Police files charge sheet in court.
Aug 10, 2009: Court fixes August 28 for hearing arguments on charges.
Dec 5, 2009: Court frames charges against three accused in the case.
Apr 15, 2010: Trial begins with recording of testimony of Jigisha's father.
July 5, 2016: Court concludes hearing final arguments, reserves judgement.
July 14, 2016: Court convicts three accused for abducting, robbing and murdering Jigisha.
Aug 20, 2016: Court reserves the order on quantum of sentence.
Aug 22, 2016: Court awards death penalty to two men and life term to another and imposes a fine of nine lakh on the three convicts.
Sept 5, 2016: Two of the convicts including on death row, challenge their conviction and the sentence by the trial court in HC.
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Sept 9, 2016: Another death row convict files his appeal against the trial court order in HC.
Sept 15: 2016: The trial court, which awards death penalty, send the matter to HC for confirmation of death sentence.
Nov 20, 2017: HC reserves verdict in Jigisha Ghosh murder case.
Jan 4, 2018: HC commutes death penalty awarded to two men to life imprisonment, upholds life term to another.
PTI
