Court mitigates sentence of youth who killed father

A Delhi court on September 5 convicted a son for killing his alcoholic father, who used to get violent and physically harm his mother. However, Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Pandey did not announce a harsh sentence and held Nitin, 21, guilty under Section 304 Part (I) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced him to a period already served by the youth.

The incident took place on May 25, 2016, when Nitin was preparing for his sixth-semester exams. His father, Birender, came home drunk and began abusing and beating his mother, thereby creating a scene. The next day, the deceased again started assaulting his mother. This irked Nitin who then got a knife and stabbed his father in the chest.

"Considering the deceased's habit of drinking and creating a ruckus in the family, it can be said that there could have been a large accumulation of rage and anger with the accused and the incident must have caused a sudden outburst of that rage/anger," the judge said in his order. The court also held that the accused was not a habitual offender and being the eldest son in the family he had to support the family. The court stated that the accused had taken admission in the seventh semester on being granted bail and did not leave his studies despite the judicial proceedings.

"His longer incarceration in jail would put him in the company of hardcore criminals and would blur chances of his reformation," the court said. The court also referred the case to DLSA for compensation to the deceased's wife under the Victim Compensation Scheme.