Family Of Deceased Not Heard: Apex Court Sets Aside Kerala HC's Order Suspending Life Sentence In B.Tech Student Murder Case

The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Kerala High Court suspending the life imprisonment sentence of a convict in the 2005 murder case of Shyamal Mandal, a B.Tech student.

The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed the High Court to reconsider the suspension of the sentence and bail application after hearing all parties, including the deceased’s family.

Shyamal Mandal, a final-year engineering student, went missing in October 2005 and was later found murdered. The convict, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI court, had secured bail after his sentence was suspended by the Kerala High Court in August 2022. The victim's family, however, was not heard during the suspension of the sentence, prompting the appeal to the Apex Court.

After hearing the submissions of the Senior Counsels for the parties, the Supreme Court noted:-

1. It seems to us that while passing the impugned order, the High Court has made certain observations that are likely to have an impact on the final outcome of the appeal.

2. The family of the deceased, namely, his appellant-father, was not heard by the High Court while suspending the sentence.

3. It seems to us that a brief reasoned order delineating the parameters within which the prayer for suspension of sentence is required to be considered, would be more appropriate, as such an order, whether or not suspending the sentence, will cause prejudice to none.

The Bench emphasized that the Kerala High Court must now pass a fresh, reasoned order on the convict's suspension of sentence, while also ensuring the deceased's family is given a hearing. "We, therefore, without expressing any opinion on merits of the case, deem it appropriate to set aside the impugned order dated 17.08.2022, with a request to the High Court to pass an appropriate order afresh, after hearing all the parties, including the appellant-father of the deceased," the Court said. 

Until the High Court makes a new determination, the Court directed that the convict will remain on interim bail. All parties have been directed to present their cases before the High Court on September 30, 2024. "Since we have set aside the order suspending the sentence of respondent no.1, it is directed that he shall remain on interim bail till the High Court passes an appropriate order on his application for suspension of sentence. The parties are directed to appear before the High Court on 30.09.2024," the Court directed. 

Furthermore, the Court ordered, "While respondent no.1 will be at liberty to file a supplementary affidavit, if so required, in support of his application for suspension of sentence, the appellants shall also be at liberty to file their reply and/or any other material which they find relevant in the context of respondent no.1’s prayer for suspension of sentence."

Accordingly, the Court disposed of the petition. 

Cause Title: Basudev Mandal v. Mohammed Ali & Ors. [Criminal Appeal No. 3767 OF 2024]

Appearance:-

Petitioner: Senior Advocate K Parameshwar, Advocates Ayush Anand, Shubhendu Anand, Monu Kumar, Kanti, Raji Gururaj, Siddhartha Sinha, Senior Advocate Sonia Mathur, Mukesh Kumar Maroria (AOR), Advocates Shlok Chandra, Gautam Bhardwaj, Pratyush Srivastava, Santosh Kumar, Rajan Kumar Chourasia

Respondent: Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, Advocates Rishi Kapoor, Ankur Gogia, Rahul Kumar, Kajal Bhatia, Nakul Chengappa, Praveen Pathak, Chand Qureshi (AOR), Nishe Rajen Shonker (AOR), Anu K Joy, Alim Anvar

Click to read/download of the Order