Srinagar, Dec. 2: A court in the Budgam district of central Kashmir sentenced a man to life in jail on Saturday for the 2011 murder of his wife.
Mushtaq Ahmad Pandit of Tangnar Kralpora was found guilty of his wife’s murder and given a life sentence by Court of Additional Sessions Judge Budgam (Fast Track), Aijaz Ahmad Khan.
The court decided on the prisoner’s sentence, saying, “The instant case does not fall with the preview of rarest of the rarest case as such convict is sentenced to life imprisonment with fine of Rs 3 lakh for the offence under Section 302 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).” “The convicted person will serve an additional year in simple imprisonment if the fine is not paid.”
The concurrent execution of both sentences was mandated by the court.
It said that, in accordance with Section 376 CrPC, the High Court’s confirmation should precede the sentence’s implementation.
“Justice demands courts should impose punishment befitting the crime so that the courts reflect public abhorrence of the crime,” the court said while deciding on the penalty.
“The court must determine the punishment after taking into account all aggravating and mitigating factors as well as the circumstances surrounding the crime,” the statement said.
The court said that the facts had to be taken into account while determining the appropriate sentencing after hearing from the parties.
The court said, “On the fateful day when the deceased had come to attend a marriage function, the convict (Pandit) took the deceased, who happened to be his wife, to his home.”
The court stated that following this, there was a heated argument that resulted in a fight. Meanwhile, the convict took the knife that was kept in the bedroom bed drawer and inflicted a number of injuries, one of which was a knife stuck in the deceased’s back, which caused the deceased to die instantly.
The court said, “The knife was taken out during post-mortem.”
It emphasized that the defendant acknowledged all of these facts in his statement that was recorded in accordance with Section 164 of the CrPC.
The court ruled that as the conduct was spontaneous and motivated by pride, envy, rage, or a feeling of honor, it is not warranting harsh punishment.
The judge stated: “Given the trauma suffered by the parents of the deceased, I deem it proper to recommend the case of the family of the deceased to Chairman District Legal Services Authority Budgam for according of compensation in terms of J&K Victim Compensation Scheme.” The deceased had one sister, and his parents did not have a source of income.
The prosecution claims that the current case began when Police Station Chadoora got information on May 1, 2011, indicating that Mushtaq Ahmad Pandit of Tanghar Krakpora had murdered his wife and that the corpse was lying in his home.
In response to this information, Police Station Chadoora filed Case No. 57/2011 under Section 302 (murder) of the RPC.
The deceased’s corpse was found at Pandit’s home throughout the course of the inquiry.
The corpse was found to have several wounds, and a knife embedded in its back was removed and confiscated during the post-mortem examination at SDH Chadoora.
When the eyewitnesses’ testimonies were taken down, one of them was recorded under Section 164 A CrPc, and it was discovered that Pandit had committed the crime that evening on the day it happened.
Family members of the deceased were attending a marriage celebration at the uncle’s home on the day of the incident, and they were unaware that anything had happened.
Pandit, who had absconded on the day of the incident, was being sought for.
The Police learned that the accused had escaped to Delhi and then returned to Jammu. On May 13, 2011, he was taken into custody in Jammu.
