HC commutes rapist's death

NEW DELHI: Concluding that a 56-year-old man who raped and murdered a three-year-old girl can be reformed, the Delhi high court has commuted his death sentence to life.
A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Mukta Gupta took into account the report of the probation officer on possibilities of reformation and rehabilitation of Bharat Singh and concluded that he can be "reformed".
In April this year, HC had upheld Singh's conviction for raping the minor. However, the court had deferred its decision if Singh can be sent to the gallows for murder, as awarded by the trial court, or serve life imprisonment, on the ground of possibility of his reform.
HC had then appointed a probation officer to monitor Singh's conduct and find out if there is any chance of convict being "rehabilitated or reformed" and if he has stopped posing a threat to society.
"The court notes the positive feedback received by the probation officer from jail authorities on the appellant's (Singh) conduct in jail and his preparedness to render services to old and ailing inmates. In light of the above reports, the court is persuaded to conclude that there exists a probability that the convict can be reformed and rehabilitated," the court noted commuting the death sentence.
Taking note of the probation officer report, HC added, "The report of the medical board of Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS), which has been referred to in the social investigation report of the PO, gives a definitive unanimous conclusion that there is nothing to suggest that Singh cannot be reformed and reintegrated, and put on to the reformative process through social correctional measures."