SUPREME COURT UPS PENALTY, GIVES MAN LIFE FOR KILLING DAUGHTER.

The Supreme Court awarded life imprisonment on Wednesday to a man, enhancing the ten-year jail term handed out to him earlier, for killing his pregnant daughter who had eloped and got married to her lover belonging to a lower caste. A Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and A.M. Khanwilkar said the man deserved a severe punishment for the heinous crime as it enhanced the ten-year jail term awarded by the Karnataka High Court. "It would necessarily follow that the accused committed murder of his daughter Shilpa who was in the advanced stage of pregnancy and for which he was liable to be punished with either imprisonment for life or death under Section. 302 of the Indian Penal Code alone. In the peculiar factual background of this case, we do not find it a fit case to impose death penalty", the Bench said.

The man was acquitted by the trial Court, which said there was no sufficient evidence to prove his guilt and many of the witnesses had turned hostile. The trial Court refused  to rely on the testimony of the victim's mother-in-law, an eye witness in the case. The trial Court had said there were discrepancies in her statements. The Karnataka High Court, however, found her statements trustworthy and convicted the accused. 

Concluding that the quantum of punishment given by the High Court was not sufficient, the Apex Court sought his response on why it should not be increased. Sensing the mood of the Court, the convict pleaded that he be allowed to withdraw his appeal but it was rejected and he was awarded life imprisonment. "In the present case, the evidence of mother-in-law has been corroborated by other circumstances and prosecution evidence. That leaves no manner of doubt that the accused not only had strong motive to kill his daughter but was responsible for doing so and excludes the probability of someone else being responsible for her death", the Bench said.

The victim Shilpa, who belonged to the Lingayat community, eloped with Ravi Kumar from the Naik community and got married in Court in 2002. Shilpa then started living with her in-laws. On 03rd October 2003, her father came to her house and killed her.

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