Our forgiving nature causing more problems: SC on commuting death sentences

The Supreme Court has questioned the repeated commutation of death sentences, with Justice Dipankar Datta observing that the judiciary's forgiving approach was contributing to the country's crime problem and that there had to be a limit to such leniency.A bench of Justices Datta and Sheel Nagu made the oral observations while hearing a plea seeking the premature release of a life convict whose death sentence in a multiple-murder case had been commuted to life imprisonment."It is because of our forgiving nature, that India is facing these problems. Forgive, forgive, forgive, you have to draw a line somewhere," Justice Datta said.He also questioned whether the circumstances that had shaped the application of the 'rarest of rare' doctrine in death penalty cases remained the same today. "Times have changed," he observed, questioning whether murders could still be considered rare in the way they were in earlier times.To explain his concerns about commutation of death sentences, Justice Datta referred to an earlier case involving a man convicted of raping and murdering his elder daughter. The man was initially sentenced to life imprisonment on the basis of his wife's testimony, the judge recounted. After being released on parole years later, he murdered his wife in front of their younger daughter.The daughter's testimony subsequently led to the man receiving a death sentence.However, the Supreme Court later commuted that sentence to life imprisonment because he had not murdered his r daughter, Justice Datta said.The judge cited the case while questioning whether the court's approach to commuting death sentences had become too forgiving."That is why we say our forgiving nature has to come to an end somewhere," he said.WHAT IS THE CASEAccording to a report by LiveLaw, the present case concerns Sanjeev Kumar, who was sentenced to death in May 2004.The Punjab and Haryana High Court reduced his death sentence to life imprisonment in 2005, but the Supreme Court restored the death penalty in 2007.After the Governor and the President rejected his mercy petitions, Kumar approached the Supreme Court again.In January 2014, the top court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, citing delays in the disposal of his mercy plea.After completing 20 years of actual imprisonment, Kumar sought premature release under the Haryana government's 2002 remission policy.The state rejected his application in August 2024 and directed that he remain in prison for the rest of his life.Authorities cited his conduct in prison, including an attempted escape through a tunnel in 2008 and his prolonged absence after being granted furlough. The state also noted that his death sentence had been commuted on procedural grounds rather than on the merits of the case.Kumar challenged the decision before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which set aside the state's order in December 2025. The High Court held that misconduct outside the five-year period preceding the application could not be considered under the applicable framework and directed the state to reconsider his plea, while granting him interim bail.- Ends(With PTI inputs)