No Death Penalty, But Jail For 40 Years Sans Remission: HC On Man Who Stabbed Former Lover 45 Times

Last Updated:
The court found that a standard life sentence, which could allow for remission after 14 years, would be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the crime
The Calcutta High Court has commuted the death sentence of a 24-year-old man convicted for the brutal murder of his former lover to life imprisonment without remission for 40 years.
A division bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Md. Shabbar Rashidi upheld the conviction of Susanta Chowdhury, who was found guilty by a fast-track court of murdering a 19-year-old college student in Behrampore, Murshidabad, in broad daylight on May 2, 2022. The trial court had sentenced him to death.
The accused, enraged after the victim ended their relationship and began seeing another person, planned the crime meticulously. He purchased a knife and a toy gun from an online store and used the latter to deter bystanders during the attack. The murder took place outside the victim's rented accommodation and was captured on video by a journalist, who was among the eyewitnesses.
During the trial, 34 witnesses were examined, including police officers, forensic experts, family members, and acquaintances of the victim. The post-mortem revealed 45 stab wounds, several of which were classified as defensive injuries. The CCTV footage and video recording from a mobile phone, accompanied by valid electronic evidence certificates, were accepted by the court. Biological evidence also confirmed the presence of the victim's blood on the knife, clothes, and shoes of the accused.
The high court, while affirming the conviction, reconsidered the sentence. Referring to landmark decisions including Bachan Singh, Machi Singh, Santosh Bariyar, and Swamy Shraddananda, the court ruled that while the crime was undoubtedly heinous, it did not fall into the 'rarest of rare' category warranting the death penalty.
The bench took note of mitigating factors, particularly the convict's age — 21 at the time of the offence — absence of a prior criminal record, and psychological assessments indicating the possibility of reformation. 'There is no material before us to suggest that the appellant is beyond reformation," the court observed, adding that 'death penalty must be imposed only when life imprisonment is unquestionably inadequate."
However, the court found that a standard life sentence, which could allow for remission after 14 years, would be grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the crime. Instead, it imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of remission for 40 years from the date of arrest, along with a fine of Rs 50,000. Failure to pay the fine would result in an additional five years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also upheld the conviction and sentence under Section 28 of the Arms Act for the use of an imitation firearm.
First Published:
June 13, 2025, 19:16 IST

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

News18

an hour ago

• News18

'Wake-Up Call': Rs 16 Crore Smuggling Network Busted At Mumbai Airport, 2 Staffers Arrested

Last Updated: On June 22, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit arrested two airport staffers who were found smuggling 24KT gold dust — coated in wax and stuffed inside socks in uniform pockets. In back-to-back busts within just 48 hours, Mumbai Customs Zone III has exposed a dark underbelly of smuggling operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport — uncovering nearly Rs 16 crore worth of illegal drugs and gold. On June 21, acting on specific intelligence, two Indian nationals arriving from Bangkok were intercepted. A thorough baggage check revealed 11.881 kg of high-grade hydroponic marijuana, cleverly vacuum-sealed and hidden inside pillow covers in their trolley bags. With an illicit value of Rs 11.88 crore, the bust is among the city's biggest drug seizures this year. Both passengers were arrested under the NDPS Act, and investigations are underway to trace the international network they were working for. Just a day later, on June 22, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit arrested two airport staffers who were found smuggling 24KT gold dust — coated in wax and stuffed inside socks concealed in their uniform pockets. The seizure, weighing 4.44 kilograms and valued at Rs 4.24 crore, exposed a worrying trend of insider involvement in organised gold smuggling. The two individuals were booked under the Customs Act, 1962. Authorities are now widening their probe into possible collusion between internal staff and gold smuggling syndicates operating across international routes. These twin operations have shaken the airport's security grid and reinforced the urgency of tightening internal surveillance mechanisms. Customs officials said these seizures underscore a larger challenge — smugglers are not only getting creative with concealment but also infiltrating from within. 'This is a wake-up call. Whether it's narcotics in tourist luggage or gold in staff uniforms, our teams are alert and acting without hesitation," a senior Customs official told News18. Further investigations are in progress to map out the criminal networks behind both high-stakes operations. First Published:

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

32 Nepal youngsters held captive in Uttarakhand rescued: Victims lured with job promises, forced into sales work; embassy, NGO, police bust human trafficking racket

DEHRADUN: Thirty-two Nepali nationals, including three minors, were rescued on Thursday from a house in Udham Singh Nagar (US Nagar) district, where they were allegedly held captive for around four months after being lured to India with promises of lucrative jobs. The joint operation was conducted by the Nepal embassy, Uttarakhand Police, and NGO, KIN India. Three men, including a Nepali citizen, Birendra Shahi, 21, have been arrested. In a post on X, the official handle of the Nepal embassy in India on Saturday said the rescued individuals will be repatriated after the legal process is completed. Efforts on to rescue 35 more Nepal nationals from Rudrapur US Nagar SSP Manikant Mishra told TOI on Sunday that police were alerted by an embassy official on Thursday. "Acting on the input, police along with the NGO representatives raided the house of Maharaj Singh in Kashipur, where 32 people, including three boys aged around 14-15, were found," Mishra said. He said that the victims were from poor families in Nepal and had been brought to India by Shahi on the promise of jobs. "He had taken Rs 10,000 to 30,000 from each of them. But once in Kashipur, he and his associates, Sachin Kumar, 28, of Ghazipur, and Manish Tiwari, 29, of Rudrapur, confined and assaulted them. They were forced to sell daily-use products for a Delhi-based firm, to which the collected money was transferred. " A case was registered against the trio on Thursday under multiple BNS sections, including 127(4) (wrongful confinement), 137(2) (kidnapping), and 111(2) (organised crime). All three were arrested on Friday and sent to jail after being produced in court. Naveen Joshi, a representative of KIN India, added that a second operation was underway on Sunday to rescue around 35 more Nepali nationals held in Rudrapur.

NDTV

an hour ago

• NDTV

Case Filed Against Jeweller For Cheating Gold Supplier Of Rs 93.5 lakh

Thane: Police have registered a case against a jeweller for allegedly cheating a gold ornaments supplier of Rs 93.5 lakh in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Monday. The accused, who has a shop at Khardi in Shahapur area, purchased 950 gms of gold jewellery from the supplier over the last three years. Despite several reminders, the accused failed to pay Rs 93.5 lakh to the supplier for the purchases, the official from Bazarpeth police station in Kalyan said. Based on the victim's complaint, the police on Sunday registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused under sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, he said.