JOIN USThe Supreme Court has asked lower courts not to show undue sympathy to convicts while pronouncing the sentence in a criminal case as it has the propensity to cause adverse impact on public confidence in the law.
A bench of Justices M Y Eqbal and Kurian Joseph said that the court must not only keep in view rights of the victim but also the society at large while considering the imposition of “appropriate punishment”. The apex court also asked the courts to consider all relevant facts and circumstances in sentencing which should be commensurate with the gravity of the offence.
“Undue sympathy to impose inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system to undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law. It is the duty of every court to award proper sentence having regard to the nature of the offence and the manner in which it was executed or committed,” the bench said.
“Meagre sentence imposed solely on account of lapse of time without considering the degree of the offence will be counter-productive in the long run and against the interest of the society,” the bench added.