Weekly Overview| Supreme Court Judgments: June 20 – June 24, 2022
|1. No Probability Of Reformation – SC Upheld Death Sentence for Rape and Murder Of Mentally And Physically Challenged Girl – The Supreme Court in this case upheld the death penalty of a man for raping and murdering a seven-and-a-half-year-old mentally and physically challenged girl.
The three-judge Bench of the Apex Court held that there appears no probability of reformation and rehabilitation of the accused. The Court also noted that the convict-accused had a history of criminal cases and was involved in another murder while he was in jail.
Cause Title – Manoj Pratap Singh v. State of Rajasthan
Date of Judgment – June 24, 2022
Coram – Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, and Justice CT Ravikumar
2. Supreme Court Dismissed Zakia Jafri's Plea Against Clean Chit To Narendra Modi By SIT In 2002 Gujarat Riots – The Supreme Court dismissed Zakia Jafri's plea seeking a probe into the larger conspiracy in the 2002 Gujarat riots and challenging the 'clean chit' given by the SIT to the then Chief Minister of Gujarat 'Narendra Modi.'
The three-judge Bench of the Apex Court held that the allegations about a larger criminal conspiracy at the highest level are based on a Overview"false claim" which "stands collapsed like a house of cards" on account of the thorough investigation by the SIT constituted by the Supreme Court.
The Court, in its 452-page judgment, rejected the theories of Zakia, including the one based on the statements of Sanjiv Bhatt and R.B. Sreekumar that in a meeting held on February 27, 2002, on the day of the Godhra incident, then Chief Minister Narendra Modi asked the senior police officials to allow Hindus to vent their anger on the minority community.
Cause Title – Zakia Ahsan Zafri v. State of Gujarat & Anr.
Date of Judgment – June 24, 2022
Coram – Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice CT Ravikumar