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Case Title: Saibanna s/o Ningappa Natikar AND The Union of India & Others

Case No: Writ Petition no. 3297 of 2013

Date of Order: 17-08-2023

CORAM: HON’BLE JUSTICE G NARENDAR AND HON’BLE JUSTICE C M POONACHA

INTRODUCTION

The Karnataka High Court has overturned the death sentence given to a 70-year-old individual convicted of murder. Instead, they have changed the punishment to life imprisonment. This decision comes after the person served 30 years in prison, during which almost 20 years were spent in isolation.

FACTS

In 1988, the petitioner turned himself in to the police, admitting that he had killed his wife, Malkawwa. He claimed he did so because she was having an affair with another man, which deeply disturbed him. He was arrested and taken into custody, where he met PW-1, Dattu, who offered his daughter’s hand in marriage once the petitioner was released.

In July 1988, the accused was granted bail and later married Nagamma, the daughter of PW-1. They had a child together. However, on February 2, 1993, the petitioner was found guilty and received a life imprisonment sentence. He was released on parole in August 1994 for one month.

On September 13, 1994, Nagamma and their daughter Vijayalakshmi were found murdered. The petitioner was discovered with serious injuries, including a severe head wound. After recovering from the injuries, he was arrested for the murders.

Despite the fact that Section 303 IPC had been declared unconstitutional by a Constitutional Bench in Mithu vs. State of Punjab (1983), the trial court still convicted the petitioner under this section. He was sentenced to death.

The conviction was upheld by the High Court and later confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2005. Subsequently, in 2005, the petitioner submitted a Mercy Petition, but it was mistakenly sent to the Union Government instead of the State Governor, who was the appropriate authority to consider it. The mercy petition wasn’t reviewed until January 2007 and was ultimately rejected in February 2007. Another mercy petition was submitted in the same month, which was also denied in 2013.

 COURT’S JUDGEMENT

Upon reviewing the records, the court found multiple instances of unexplained delays in the process of considering the petitioner’s mercy petition. These delays were attributed to various governmental bodies, including the State Government, the Governor’s Secretariat, and the Karnataka government. The court calculated a cumulative delay of over 7 years and 8 months in the consideration and disposal of the petitioner’s mercy petition. This prolonged delay was deemed to have violated the petitioner’s rights and justified their request for a commutation of the death sentence. Additionally, the court noted that the petitioner had been held in solitary confinement for around 16 years and was suffering from physical and psychological issues due to this confinement. Consequently, the court partially granted the petitioner’s plea.

A panel consisting of Justice G Narendar and Justice C M Poonacha has granted approval to the legal request submitted by Saibanna Ningappa Natikar on two main grounds. These grounds include an extensive delay of 7 years and 8 months in addressing his plea for clemency and his unjustified confinement in isolation, which lacked legal authorization.

The panel stated that after evaluating all the details and circumstances, especially considering the petitioner’s enduring imprisonment of over 30 years, justice would be better served by altering the initially given death penalty to a sentence of life imprisonment. The petitioner is also granted the freedom to submit a request for remission at their discretion.

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Written by- Shreya Sharma