Orissa HC faces criticism for commuting death sentence of a rapist, citing his habit of namaz many times
A division bench of Justices S K Sahoo and R K Pattanaik upheld the trial court’s conviction of Shaikh Asif Ali for the rape and murder of the child under sections 302/376 of the IPC and section 6 of the Pocso Act. However, the court decided that Ali, who was 26 at the time of the crime in 2014, should be imprisoned for life, with the order specifying that the state government should pay Rs 10 lakh to the victim’s parents.
Justice Sahoo, who authored the judgment, provided additional reasons for commuting Ali's death sentence to life imprisonment.
«He is offering prayer to God many times a day and he is ready to accept the punishment as he has surrendered before God,» stated Justice Sahoo.
The bench further noted Ali's family circumstances, mentioning he has an elderly mother aged about 63 years and two unmarried sisters who all depended on him as the sole breadwinner. Ali was working as a color mistri in Mumbai, and his family’s financial condition was not good.
“His character and conduct was good in school and he passed matriculation in the year 2010. He could not continue his higher studies due to financial problems in the family. He was a good cricket and football player during his teenage years. Even though he is in judicial custody for about ten years, reports submitted by jail superintendent and the psychiatrist indicate that his conduct and behaviour inside prison is normal, his behaviour toward co-prisoners as well as staff is cordial and he is maintaining every discipline of the jail administration,”
