NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday handed two life terms to four convicts in the killing of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan in 2008 while a fifth was sentenced to three years in jail.
The court of additional sessions judge Ravindra Kumar Pandey awarded a life term to four convicts - Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar - for the offence under IPC Section 302 (murder). The court additionally awarded another life term for offences committed by these four convicts under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999. The court, while pronouncing the sentence, stated that the life terms for both the offences will run "consecutively". This means the convicts will serve a minimum of 28 years in jail.
The court, citing various Supreme Court judgments, refused to award the death penalty stating that the offence does not fall in the rare of rarest cases category.
The sentences as awarded above to the convicts Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Malik and Ajay Kumar @ Ajay U/s 302 IPC and U/s 3 (1) (1) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 shall run consecutively," said the court. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh each on these four convicts.
The fifth convict, Ajay Sethi, was sentenced to simple imprisonment for three years. The court imposed a fine of Rs 7.25 lakh on him.
"In the light of these judgments and guidelines regarding the sentencing policy and submission as made on behalf of the state and on behalf of the convicts and the pre-sentence report as filed by the probation officer, the court is of the view that the present case and the act of the convicts Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Baljeet Singh Malik and Ajay Kumar @ Ajay to murder the victim do not fall within the category of rare of rarest cases category in which the death penalty can be imposed," the court observed.
The court, noting the report filed by the District Legal Services Authority, said Soumya's parents suffered from psychological loss, monetary loss and trauma due to the incident. The court directed to award Rs 12 lakh compensation to the parents from the total fine imposed on all five convicts. The court also referred the matter to DLSA for "adequate and proper" compensation to the parents.
"It is unfortunate that victim Saumya Vishwanathan, who was young, dynamic and a hard-working journalist, lost her life due to the act of the convicts... while she was returning after completing her night shift from her office in the early morning of 30.09.2008," the court said.
The prosecution represented by additional public prosecutor Pravin Rahul submitted before the court that Vishwanathan was treated as a "prey" by the convicts and there was no provocation on her part against them. Demanding the death penalty, the prosecution said that they are "beyond the purview of reformation" and their act fell within the category of rare of rarest category.
Advocate Amit Kumar, representing Baljeet Malik and Amit Shukla, submitted that as per the pre-sentence report by probation officer, the conduct of the convicts had been satisfactory in jail and there are chances of their reformation. The counsel for Ravi Kapoor said there was delay in trial due to which the convicts remained in custody for more than 14 years.
The court, mentioning an ILO report which stated India's female work participation rate has declined over past two decades, dropping from 32% in 2005 to 19% in 2021, outlined, "One of the reasons for the decline is that women face a higher risk of harassment, abuse and assault while travelling to the workplace from their home and back."
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