The Supreme Court has recently commuted the death sentence of a watchman, who was convicted of dacoity and the murder of his employers, to life imprisonment.

A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai, Justice PK Mishra, and Justice KV Vishwanathan has overturned the death penalty that was imposed by the Bombay High Court in 2022.

“The learned Trial Judge upon consideration of the material placed on record had come to a considered conclusion that the present case does not fit in the category of the 'rarest of rare' cases. Therefore, unless the finding recorded by the learned Trial Judge was found to be perverse or impossible, the High Court ought not to have interfered with the same”, the Court held.

The watchman, Shiv Kumar Saket, was found guilty of the brutal murder of businessman Ramesh Munot and his wife, Chitra, at their home in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, in 2007. Saket, along with two accomplices and three former employees of the Munots, carried out a premeditated robbery and murder.

Initially, the trial court sentenced all six convicts to life imprisonment. However, the Bombay High Court later increased Saket's punishment to death, emphasizing the betrayal of trust as an aggravating factor.

The Supreme Court, however, disagreed with the High Court's ruling. While it upheld the conviction, the Court overturned the death penalty and reinstated the trial court's sentence of life imprisonment. The Supreme Court observed that the High Court had failed to establish that the trial court's conclusion—that the case did not qualify as one of the "rarest of rare" cases—was perverse.

The Supreme Court further remarked that Saket's role in the crime was comparable to that of the other accused. As a result, he could not be singled out for a distinct, harsher punishment.

The Bombay High Court had imposed the death penalty on Saket in response to an appeal from the Maharashtra government, which sought to increase his punishment. The High Court determined that Saket, as a day watchman employed by the Munots, had betrayed the couple's trust, distinguishing him from the other convicts. The court characterized the murders as “calculated and cold-blooded” and concluded that the crime fell into the category of the rarest of rare cases.

On the night of December 2, 2007, Saket and his accomplices broke into the Munots' bungalow, where they bound the night guard and murdered the couple. Ramesh Munot was stabbed multiple times, while his wife, Chitra, was tied to a chair and had her throat slit. The group stole jewelry, foreign currency, and other valuables totaling approximately ₹9 lakhs before attempting to flee the city.

The trial court had sentenced all six accused to life imprisonment in 2013 for offenses under various sections of the IPC, including murder, dacoity, and conspiracy.

Case no. – Crl.A. No. 806-807/2023

Case Title – Shivkumar Ramsundar Saket v. State of Maharashtra