The Calcutta High Court cancelled the death sentence of three people accused of a gruesome murder, saying the evidence was not strong enough. The accused have now been fully acquitted.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
WEST BENGAL: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday gave a big judgment in a well-known murder case from 2014. The court cancelled the conviction and death sentence of three people who were earlier found guilty of killing a woman and cutting her body into pieces.
A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi said that the police and prosecution could not prove their case properly and failed to show strong and clear evidence against the three accused – the woman’s husband and two others.
The judges clearly said:
“We therefore, set aside the impugned judgment of conviction and the consequential order of sentence. Death sentence awarded to the appellants, cannot, therefore, be sustained even, less to talk of its confirmation. Accordingly, the appellants are hereby acquitted of all the charges framed against them.”
The three accused in the case were Surajit Deb, his live-in partner Lipika Poddar, and their friend Sanjay Biswas. They were arrested by Kolkata Police in 2014, after a horrifying incident came to light.
The police had found a woman’s body in Sealdah Police Station – her torso was stuffed in a suitcase, and her head and limbs were found separately in different bags. The murdered woman was identified as Jayanti Deb, the wife of Surajit.
According to police, Surajit and Jayanti had separated years ago, and he had started living with Lipika in another apartment. Police claimed that Surajit and Lipika planned and killed Jayanti, and later Sanjay helped them cut up the body to hide the crime.
All three were found guilty in 2019 by the trial court, and they were given the death penalty, which is the harshest punishment under Indian law.
However, after hearing the appeal, the High Court disagreed with the earlier court’s decision. The judges found that the investigation had serious flaws and there was no strong evidence that proved the accused persons were present when the murder happened.
The court noted:
“Their presence at the scene of crime at the relevant time has not been proved convincingly.”
So, because of this lack of reliable proof, the High Court acquitted all three accused of all charges. They will no longer face any punishment related to this case.
- The legal team of accused- Senior Advocates Jayanta Narayan Chatterjee and Kallol Mondal, along with Moumita Pandit, Supreem Naskar, Jayashree Patra, Pritha Sinha, Krishan Ray, Anamitra Banerjee, Akbar Laskar, Isita Kundu, Malay Bhattacharya, and Subhrajyoti Ghosh.
- The State of West Bengal was represented by Public Prosecutor Debasish Roy and advocates Partha Pratim Das and Manasi Roy.
CASE TITLE:
Surajit Deb vs State of West Bengal.
Would You Like Assistance In Drafting A Legal Notice Or Complaint?
CLICK HERE
Click Here to Read Our Reports on CJI BR Gavai
Click Here to Read Our Reports on Death Sentence
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
