Byluru Thippaiah @ Byaluru Thippaiah @ Nayakara Thippaiah vs. The State Of Karnataka

2025 INSC 862
REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL Nos. 2490-2491 OF 2023

BYLURU THIPPAIAH @
BYALURU THIPPAIAH
@ NAYAKARA THIPPAIAH … APPELLANT(S)

VERSUS

STATE OF KARNATAKA …RESPONDENT(S)


J U D G M E N T


SANJAY KAROL, J.

1. This is the third in an unfortunate line of cases that have
travelled up to this Court in a recent past and have become ripe
for adjudication where we find all sense of responsibility and
propriety to have been given a go by, by the Appellant-convict.
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
NAVEEN D
Date: 2025.07.16
18:11:55 IST
Reason:
In this case, the seed of violence was the suspected infidelity of
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 1 of 23


1
his wife Pakkeeramma . He suspected that his three-children
2 3 4
namely Pavithra , Nagraj @Rajappa and Basamma born to D-1
were perhaps not his own.
2. Concurrently, the Appellant-convict has been held guilty
of charges framed against him in FIR Cr. No. 23 of 2017 dated
th
26 February 2017 registered at PS Kampli, Ballari District,
rd 5
Karnataka – by the III Additional District and Sessions Judge ,
rd
Ballari vide judgment dated 3 December 2019 in Sessions Case
No. 5031 of 2017 and by the High Court vide impugned judgment
th
dated 30 May 2023 in Criminal Appeal No. 100170 of 2020 and
Criminal Referred Case No. 100002 of 2020.
3. The facts of the appeals as have been culled out by the
th
Courts below are that on 25 February 2017 the Appellant-
6
convict assaulted D1, her sister Gangamma and his children D3-
D5 brutally, resulting in the death of D1 to D4 on the spot and
D5 on the way to the hospital. Having done so, he stepped out of
the house and apparently, proclaimed his satisfaction of having
put an end to the life of his wife and sister-in-law who, according
to him, was engaged in ‘ immoral activities ’ and also the children
born to his wife which, as per him, were a direct consequence of

1
Hereinafter referred to as D1
2
Hereinafter referred to as D3
3
Hereinafter referred to as D4
4
Hereinafter referred to as D5
5
Hereafter ‘Trial Court’
6
Hereinafter referred to as D2
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 2 of 23


such immoral activities. This statement was witnessed by as
many as eight prosecution witnesses, namely, Shankaramma
(CW-4); Bandi Basavaraja alias S. Basavaraj (CW-11);
Thippeswamy (CW-30); V. Sathyappa (CW-32); K. Abdul
Wahid (CW-35); Mehaboob (CW-36); Ragavendra (CW-37);
Syed Mehaboob (CW-38); Nagappa (CW-39) and Athaulla
(CW-40). Upon hearing such a statement, they rushed to the
house of the Appellant-convict and found the abovenamed
deceased persons lying there in pool of blood. D-5, at this time,
was still alive and was accordingly taken to the Government
Hospital, by CWs 35 and 36, where she died. CW-2 Marenna
lodged a complaint with the police that his nieces, D-1 and D-2
as also D-1’s children had been killed by the Appellant-convict.
The latter also went to the Kampili PS and admitted to having
7 8
killed D-1 to D-5. A First Information Report was registered
and forwarded to the Judicial Magistrate, First Class (Sr. Dn.) on
the same day at 11:45 pm. The Appellant-convict was formally
arrested at 5 a.m., the next morning.
4. After completion of the investigation, challan was
9
presented for trial under Section 302, Indian Penal Code, 1860 .
To establish its case, the prosecution examined 36 witnesses
( although 66 were cited in the charge-sheet ), marked 51

7
Ex. 9(a) at Pg 170 of CC
8
FIR No. 23/2017
9
Abbreviated as ‘IPC’
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documents and 22 material objects, as exhibits. The Trial Court,
having given its consideration to the evidence produced,
concluded that the Appellant-convict had barbarically murdered
his family members, D-1 to D-5 and had a ‘ beast mind ’. The
th
order of sentencing dated 4 December 2019 reveals the
consideration of two judgments of this Court, Khushwinder
10
Singh v. State of Punjab and Ishwari Lal Yadav v. State of
11
Chatt i sgarh . In Khushwinder (supra) the appellant was
convicted by all courts for having killed with premeditation, six
people including two children. This he did on the pretext of
ridding a close family member of an excessive drinking problem
by getting the said family member in touch with an alleged
godman, as also sending the father of the deceased children to
Canada, for a hefty sum of money. The second case, Ishwari Lal
Yadav (supra) was concerned with the sentence of death imposed
upon the appellants therein for the murder of a two-year-old boy
in sacrificium. Since the child was brought to the house of
Ishwari and his wife Kiran Bai by the other co-accused, to further
their attempts to gain enlightenment by pleasing God, and, when
questioned by the villagers regarding the reason as to why there
were freshly dug mounds of earth and blood in their house, they
confessed. They were convicted under Section 302 read with

10
(2019) 4 SCC 415
11
(2019) 10 SCC 423
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 4 of 23


Section 34 IPC across fora. Having considered the above two
cases, the Trial Court found it fit to impose capital punishment.
The conclusions are extracted hereunder:
“Materials on record indicates that, the accused has chopped
off his wife, sister-in-law and 03 helpless children in a barbaric
way, that too in a diabolical and dastardly manner one after the
other. There is a serial killing within a span of few minutes.
The learned Public Prosecutor pointed out that accused has
hatched a full proof plan before chopping off 05 person. He
has made arrangements that none of them can escape from
death. The photographs of scene of crime itself is the mirror of
cruelty. The photographs are resembling a rustic butcher shop,
where the animals were killed inhumanly. The accused has not
allowed the other person to see him chopping the rest. The
organ on which the cruel assault is made is clear indication that
accused has made up his mind not to spare any of them. The
Post Mortem report indicates that, the children to whom the
accused has chopped off were hardly 06, 07 and 08 years
helpless kids. The accused mercilessly chopped off his own
small children without a second thought. That itself clearly
indicates that accused is not worth to live in the civilized
society. It is also to be noted that, even accused has threatened
the witnesses to kill them also if they give evidence against
him after he released from jail. This fact also clearly indicates
that, even now accused has no guilt feeling for committing
murder of his own 05 family members. Hence, as rightly
pointed out by the learned P.P. If the accused gets an
opportunity to come out of jail, he may finish off another
dozen or so. Considering the facts and circumstances of this
case and keeping in view of the nature of crime committed by
the accused, I am of the opinion that, this case squarely fall
within the rarest of the rare category. However, as the accused
is guilt for the offence punishable under Section 302 of I.P.C.,
and as the prosecution has established that accused has killed
05 innocent person in a pre-planned murder. In the facts and
circumstances of the case, I am of the opinion that there is no
alternative punishment suitable, except the death sentence. The
crime is committed with extremist brutality and the collective
conscious of the society would be shocked. Therefore, I am of
the opinion that the capital punishment/death is the only
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solution to this kind of crime. Hence, I hold that, this is a fit
case to impose capital punishment of death penalty…”

5. Given that the sentence awarded by the Trial Court was
that of death, the matter made its way to the High Court by way
of confirmation proceedings under Section 366 of the Code of
12
Criminal Procedure, 1973 . The Appellant-convict also
challenged the conviction and sentence.
6. By the common impugned judgment, reference was
answered in as much as the sentence and conviction awarded by
the Trial Court were confirmed. The criminal appeal at the
instance of the Appellant-convict was, accordingly, dismissed. In
coming to the conclusions as it did, the High Court is required to
have, as the first court of appeal, re-examined the evidence before
it, and come to an independent conclusion regarding the
correctness or otherwise, of the Trial Court findings. [See: Atley
13 14
v. State of U.P ; Ajit Savant Majagvai v. State of Karnataka
15
and Ramji Singh v. State of Bihar ] The High Court has in this
case, followed this well-established principle. The findings can
be summarized thus:
6.1 Motive on the part of the Appellant-convict can be
established by way of multiple witnesses, PW-2
(Halladamane Marenna), PW-4 (Gangadhar), PW-5

12
For Short, ‘CrPC’.
13
AIR 1955 SC 807
14
(1997) 7 SCC 110
15
(2001) 9 SCC 528
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(Thippaiah), PW-8 (Shankramma), PW-9 (Raghavendra),
PW-11 (Adbul Wahed), PW-14 (Somakka), PW-16
(Raghavendra), PW-17 (Syed Mehaboob), PW-20
(Ramu), PW-21 (Parashuram), PW-32 (Anjinamma), who
have consistently deposed as to the frequent squabbles
between the Appellant-convict and D-1. Regarding his
suspicion of having not fathered the three children, PW-2,
PW-9, PW-14, PW-15 (Nagaraja) have stated that he made
categorical statements to that extent.
6.2 PWs 7, 11, 16 & 17 have deposed that the Appellant-
convict told them that he had ‘ chopped off ’ the deceased
persons and that he was happy about that.
6.3 The Appellant-convict’s statement to PW-15 that his
daughter Rajeshwari would be coming to the village of
Yarakullu and that he should pick her up, shows pre-
planning. He has also stated that he has only one child of
his own.
6.4 The manner in which the five deceased persons met
their death shows barbarity, maliciousness on his part.
6.5 On the aspect of sentencing, the High Court asked
the probation officer concerned to collect certain
information which would be relevant to the adjudication of
the propriety of the highest form of punishment.
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6.6 The conclusions as can be drawn from the reading
of paragraph 49 of the impugned judgment are that:
6.6.1 Regarding the early life and background of
the Appellant-convict, it was observed that he had
lost his parents at an early age and was brought up
by his elder sister. Prior to his marriage to D-1, he
was married to someone else and had begotten a son
as well. There had been accusations of him being
responsible for his former father-in-law’s death, but
no action in law was taken.
6.6.2 He is illiterate. Troubled relations with his
former wife, including attempts to take her and her
mother’s life, resulted in separation. When it comes
to D-1, here too, he is without any assets or savings
and resided with D-1 in her maternal home.
6.6.3 The Amin, 3rd Additional District and
Sessions Court, Hospete, indicated in his report that
the people around him do not believe he can be
reformed. The probation officer who spoke to the
people in his native village, however, said that he
could be reformed.
6.6.4 Dharwad Institute of Mental Health and
Neurosciences in their report submitted that he had
an IQ of 93, a psychiatric score of 29, which is
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below the cut of score. He does not have any
personality disorders but is mildly depressed.
6.6.5 The Court recorded that in their interaction
with the Appellant-convict, he only denied the
happenings and stated not to know anything about
it. He appeared to be divorced from reality, but
since the psychiatric analysis report ruled out the
said possibility, he appears to have no regard for
law.
6.6.6 The gruesome manner of the commission of
the murder was taken as an aggravating
circumstance. For the opposite, it was held that
none of the substance can be found. He has only one
daughter; no extreme mental or physical disturbance
or provocation.
6.7 The final order is as below:-
“ORDER

i. Criminal Appeal No.100170/2020 stands
dismissed.
ii. Criminal R.C.No.100002/2020 stands allowed.
iii. The death sentence awarded by the trial Court is
confirmed. The Appellant shall be hung by his neck till
death.
iv. The Additional Registrar (Judicial) is directed to
forward the above file to the concerned District Legal
Service Authority (DLSA) to determine and make
necessary arrangements for payment of compensation in
terms of Sections 357 and 357A of the Code of Criminal
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 9 of 23


Procedure, to the daughter of the deceased namely
Rajeshwari.
v. Registry is directed to furnish a copy of this
judgment to the Appellant through Jail Authorities free
of cost and inform him of his right to appeal to the
Hon’ble Supreme Court and transmit the trial Court
records to the trial Court along with a copy of this
judgment.
vi. Though the above matter is disposed, re-list on
10.07.2023 at 2.30 p.m. for reporting compliance with
the directions issued above.
vii. We place our appreciation for the services
rendered by Sri.S.L.Matti, Panel Advocate of Karnataka
State Legal Services Authority.”

7. The extant appeals are by the Appellant-convict
challenging the findings of the High Court. We have heard Mr.
Gopal Sankaranarayanan, learned Senior Counsel for the
Appellant and Mr. Avishkar Singhvi, learned Additional
Advocate General for the State of Karnataka.
8. As we have already noticed, the prosecution examined a
total of thirty-six witnesses. A brief overview of the relevant PWs
is as under:
8.1 PW-1 is the Medical Officer, Kampili Government
Hospital. He conducted the post-mortem of the deceased
persons. Having seen the weapon allegedly used by the
Appellant-convict, it was said that the weapon (Ex.7)
could have been used to cause the injuries.
8.2 PW-2 stated that the Appellant-convict would
repeatedly accuse D-1 and D-2 of being promiscuous. He
further stated that the Appellant-convict had called and
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 10 of 23


told him that he had killed the deceased persons. He went
to D-1’s house to check on them and found all of them
dead. He also stated that Appellant-convict threatened to
kill him after he leaves the Court.
8.3 PW-4 stated that PW-2 informed him crying over
the phone that Appellant-convict had killed D-1 to D-5. He
went to the spot of the crime and saw the bodies of the
deceased persons there.
8.4 PW-5 stated that PW-2 informed him crying over
the phone that Appellant-convict had killed D-1 to D-5. At
the time that he reached the spot, D-5 was still alive and
was accordingly taken to receive medical attention. PW-7
told him that D-1 had an affair with another person, and
that is the reason why the Appellant-convict took such a
step. When the latter came out of the house, the chopper
which was the alleged murder weapon was in his hand, and
he stated that he had killed them.
8.5 PW-7 who had been declared a hostile witness,
deposed that upon receipt of information regarding the
commission of murders, he went to the spot. He was the
one who informed the complainant. He had however, not
seen the Appellant-convict coming out of the house. In the
cross-examination he stated that he had gone to the spot
having heard sounds of quarrelling.
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 11 of 23


8.6 PW-8 in her examination in chief, made a positive
identification of the weapon allegedly used by the
Appellant-convict. She also deposed that he came out of
the house and declared that he had killed D-1 to D-5. In
her cross-examination, she denied the suggestion that she
had not seen the incident.
8.7 PW-11 in his testimony deposed regarding a
particular quarrel which happened a few months prior to
the incident and that PW-2 had told him that it was a fairly
regular occurrence. Part of his testimony reads as under:
“On the date of incident i.e. 25.02.2017 I saw the accused
holding M.O-1 chopper in his hand. He was coming out of
his house holding M.O-1. It was fully blood stained.
Accused was abusing his wife and declaring that “-sic-”.
When I rush to the house of accused it was fully blooded
there were five human bodies found laying in the pool of
blood. Out of which four person were already dead, One
girl found to be alive I immediately shifted her to the
Hospital there she was declared dead. Thippeswamy,
Basavaraja and Satyappa also accompanied me.”

8.8 PW-14 stated that the Appellant-convict was
quarrelsome and often he had asked the latter to mend his
ways to no avail. He got information of the occurrence the
next day morning. He also deposed that the Appellant-
convict often cast aspersions on the fidelity of D-1 and the
children, D-3 to D-5, that’s why he killed them.
8.9 PW-15 is the person who had housed the Appellant-
convict’s daughter Rajeshwari, upon the latter’s request,
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 12 of 23


when he had planned to kill D-1 to D-5. He states that the
only reason she was spared was that he believed her to be
his child.
8.10 PW-16 deposed as follows:-
“…At about 8.00 p.m. the accused came out of his house
holding a chopper, which was blood stained, his clothes
were also stained with blood. I have enquired him about
the blood stains, he reported that he chopped off five person
and abused them as prostitutes. The accused moved to
Police Station alongwith chopper. Immediately we rush to
the house of accused. Where we noticed that five persons
were lying in the pool of blood, sustaining chopper injuries
out of which three women died and a boy also no more. A
girl aged five years was alive sustaining grievous head
injury. Immediately we shifted the injured girl to the
hospital, where she also passed away…”

Cross-examination by Sri C.M.S.P. advocate for
accused

...It is false to suggest that on the date of incident also it
was informed by others, witness voluntaries that myself
saw the accused. M.O-1 is the same chopper which was
held by accused on that day. It is false to suggest that I
have not seen M.O-1. It is true that I didn’t enquire the
accused about the cause of this incident. Accused moved
away with courage...”

We have extracted the aforesaid, for as we notice the
testimony of this important witness remains
unimpeachable, clearly establishing the guilt of the
Appellant-convict.
8.11 PW-22 is Rajeshwari, the daughter of Appellant-
convict. She was not present at the time of the incident and
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 13 of 23


did not know how the deceased persons died. She stated
that D-1 and the Appellant-convict would never fight and
were cordial with one-another.
Well, she is the only one who had supported the
Appellant-convict. In view of overwhelming evidence to
the contrary, her testimony cannot be said to have rendered
the prosecution case to be doubtful of the Appellant-
convict’s involvement in the crime.
8.12 PWs 23 and 24 both stated that they reached the
spot upon hearing a commotion. There they found out that
the Appellant-convict had put an end to five of his family
members.
8.13 PW-29 deposed that he is the Appellant-convict’s
immediate neighbour and upon hearing a commotion, he
stepped out of his house to see a throng of people gathering
there. He also saw the Appellant-convict stepping away
from his house with the blood-stained weapon in his hand.
It was then he found out what had transpired.
8.14 PW-33 was the CPI at Kampili Circle. He stated
that the Appellant-convict having committed the crime,
surrendered. He recorded the voluntary confession
statement given by the Appellant-convict. He also
recovered the murder weapon and shirt worn by the
Appellant-convict at the time of the crime. He identified
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 14 of 23


the various objects recovered by him in the course of
investigation and also stated the names of various persons
whose statements were recorded by him. Nothing could
be elicited in the cross-examination to discredit his
testimony or the investigation process.
9. We have given our anxious consideration to the testimonies,
referred supra and also all other evidence brought on record by
the prosecution. We find that numerous witnesses have testified
to Appellant-convict’s quarrelsome nature and repeated clashes
with D-1. Further, quite a few witnesses have deposed that they
saw the Appellant-convict with the murder weapon as also he
himself was drenched in blood. Still further, other witnesses such
as PW-10 testified that he came out of the house and in front of
all the people that had gathered there due to gatala stated openly
that due to the promiscuous nature of D-1 and D-2 and the fact
that D-3 to D-5 were not his children, he murdered them. It
cannot be questioned that the act of the Appellant-convict came
from a place of grave hatred for the deceased persons. It has,
however been recorded that there was no sudden provocation
which led to him having taken such a drastic step. His planning
and forethought is sufficiently exhibited by the fact that he sent
away the only child he considered to be his own that is
Rajeshwari. He also phoned up PW-15 and asked him to collect
her from the bus station displaying that he had love and care for
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 15 of 23


her in his heart. To doubt upon the paternity of D-3 to D-5 is not
substantiated by any evidence nor have any of the witnesses lent
credence to this hypothesis. Therefore, only on a hunch and as a
matter of belief, he chose to end the lives of three young children.
Regarding D-2, his sister-in-law, the only statement that can be
found is that she aided and abetted the alleged misdeed and
wrongdoings of D-1. We ask ourselves a question – is belief
simpliciter sufficient enough to drive a person to a point of no
return where ending the life of the deceased is the only rational
outcome that can be perceived. We think, not. It is true that
Appellant-convict is illiterate, but he is most certainly not
irrational. He had a plan in mind which he executed, achieving
his desired goal. There is nothing on record which would
discredit the case of the prosecution or expose any gaps, errors,
conjectures or surmises in the chain of circumstantial evidence
established by the prosecution, beyond reasonable doubt. Not a
shred of evidence either oral or documentary has been produced
to posit Appellant-convict’s innocence and bringing the
possibility of involvement of third party.
10. In that view of the matter, we find no reason to take a
different view on the Appellant-convict’s guilt, than the one that
has been taken by the Courts below. This is keeping with the
well-established principle of this Court adopting a cautionary
approach in interfering with concurrent findings of guilt.
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 16 of 23


Hidayatullah J. (as his Lordship then was) writing for the
majority in Saravanabhavan & Govindaswamy v. State of
16
Madras , captured this principle in the following terms:

17
[ See also : Mekala Sivaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh ] .
11. On the aspect of sentencing, the test to be applied is as to
whether the conduct of the Appellant-convict meets the standard
of ‘ rarest of rare cases ’. This has been the consistent position in
confirmation of sentences of death imposed by the trial courts,
18
ever since Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab . Swami
19
Shradhanand v. State of Karnataka , introduced a new position
wherein the Courts were able to impose sentences that fall short
of death but at the same time, keeping in mind the heinousness

16
1965 SCC OnLine SC 176
17
(2022) 8 SCC 253
18
(1980) 2 SCC 684
19
(2008) 13 SCC 767
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 17 of 23


of the crime by the accused persons, ensure that the society is not
put in danger with the possibility of such an accused walking
free. In para 10 thereof, it was observed: “The absolute
irrevocability of the death penalty renders it completely
incompatible to the slightest hesitation on the part of the Court.”
20
With the judgment in Manoj v. State of M.P. came a
watershed moment in the criteria of sentencing. This judgment
ensured that if and when a person is finally sent to the gallows he
is only so sent after due consideration of the entire background
of facts and circumstances that have landed the accused person
at the precipice of death. Under the direction issued therein, the
Court is required to call for reports that detail the social and
psychological backdrop of the Appellant-convict. It was held by
the three-Judge Bench as follows :
“ 249. To do this, the trial court must elicit information from
the accused and the State, both. The State, must—for an
offence carrying capital punishment—at the appropriate stage,
produce material which is preferably collected beforehand,
before the Sessions Court disclosing psychiatric and
psychological evaluation of the accused. This will help
establish proximity (in terms of timeline), to the accused
person's frame of mind (or mental illness, if any) at the time of
committing the crime and offer guidance on mitigating factors
(1), (5), (6) and (7) spelled out in Bachan Singh [ Bachan
Singh v. State of Punjab , (1980) 2 SCC 684 : 1980 SCC (Cri)
580] . Even for the other factors of (3) and (4)—an onus placed
squarely on the State—conducting this form of psychiatric and
psychological evaluation close on the heels of commission of
the offence, will provide a baseline for the appellate courts to

20
(2023) 2 SCC 353
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 18 of 23


use for comparison i.e. to evaluate the progress of the accused
towards reformation, achieved during the incarceration period.
250. Next, the State, must in a time-bound manner ,
collect additional information pertaining to the accused. An
illustrative, but not exhaustive list is as follows:
( a ) Age
( b ) Early family background (siblings, protection of parents,
any history of violence or neglect)
( c ) Present family background (surviving family members,
whether married, has children, etc.)
( d ) Type and level of education
( e ) Socio-economic background (including conditions of
poverty or deprivation, if any)
( f ) Criminal antecedents (details of offence and whether
convicted, sentence served, if any)
( g ) Income and the kind of employment (whether none, or
temporary or permanent, etc.);
( h ) Other factors such as history of unstable social behaviour,
or mental or psychological ailment(s), alienation of the
individual (with reasons, if any), etc.
This information should mandatorily be available to the trial
court, at the sentencing stage. The accused too, should be given
the same opportunity to produce evidence in rebuttal, towards
establishing all mitigating circumstances.
251. Lastly, information regarding the accused's jail conduct
and behaviour, work done (if any), activities the accused has
involved themselves in, and other related details should be
called for in the form of a report from the relevant jail
authorities (i.e. Probation and Welfare Officer, Superintendent
of Jail, etc.). If the appeal is heard after a long hiatus from the
trial court's conviction, or High Court's confirmation, as the
case may be — a fresh report (rather than the one used by the
previous court) from the jail authorities is recommended, for a
more exact and complete understanding of the
contemporaneous progress made by the accused, in the time
elapsed. The jail authorities must also include a fresh
psychiatric and psychological report which
will further evidence the reformative progress, and reveal
post-conviction mental illness, if any.”

Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 19 of 23


12. The High Court did, in accordance with Manoj (supra),
call for the reports. However, we are of the considered view, that
the said reports have not been considered to their full extent. The
Probation Report reveals that the Appellant-convict has no
antecedents; there is mixed opinion on whether he is suitable for
reformation or not. The “ Conduct and Behavioural Report ”
submitted by the Government of Karnataka, Prisons and
Correctional Services records that he has “ good moral character ”
and “ good conduct ” with co-prisoners and prison officials. He
has also attempted to mend one of the gaps in the fabric of his
life i.e., literacy by participating in the Basic Literacy Program
organized by the Zilla Lok Shiksha Samiti and passing the same
with good rank.
13. The mitigation report reveals difficulties throughout- lack
of paternal/maternal love and care which later became extreme
protectiveness after the death of his brother, difficulties in
learning in school leading to him dropping out, making impulsive
decisions in business often leading to losses, breakdown of the
marriage with his first wife for the reason that neither quite
comprehended issues with substance dependence.
14. Once incarcerated, it appears that mental health struggles
have been a constant and unwelcome companion. He considered
making an attempt to take his own life on two occasions, one
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 20 of 23


when he found out about the deaths of his entire family and two,
when he himself was sentenced to death.
15. The report further concludes that:
(a) the Appellant-convict has the ability to adapt, engage
in constructive activities, pursue an education despite
past difficulty, continued worry about his daughter
(Rajeshwari’s) future, shows a notable capacity for
reform and personal growth;
(b) the Appellant-convict’s continued incarceration has
had a negative impact on Rajeshwari, who is really
struggling to cope with life. Interactions with her,
threw light on a gentle, loving side of the Appellant-
convict. She has also reported experiencing auditory
hallucinations which is a direct impact of loneliness
she has been enduring.

16. Recently, this Court undertook a detailed examination of
the past cases wherein the sentence of death has been modified
to that of imprisonment for the remainder of natural life. [ See:
21
Ramesh A. Naika v. Registrar General ] A perusal of the
factors elucidated therein show that (a) lack of criminal
antecedents; (b) satisfactory conduct in prison; (c) possibility of

21
2025 SCC OnLine SC 575

Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 21 of 23


reformation; as a criteria, apply to the instant case. Regarding
the last one, it can be said that given there is mixed opinion on
whether he shall or shall not be able to reform his way, the Court
will err on the side of caution just as when there are two possible
interpretations of a given set of facts or circumstances, the one
that favours the accused is to be adopted.

17. While we affirm the findings of the Courts below regarding
the Appellant-convict’s conviction for the barbaric and ruthless
murders of his family members, D-1 to D-5. However, on the
aspect of sentencing, we hold that despite having considerable
information before it, the High Court did not consider it
appropriately and sufficiently, in view of the findings recorded in
the said reports. Considering the sum-total of circumstances that
drove the Appellant-convict to this point of committing this
crime of a most reprehensible nature, the death penalty may not
be appropriate. We are of the view that he should spend his days
in jail attempting to repent for the crimes committed by him. As
such, these appeals are partly allowed to the extent that he is
released from death row. Instead, he shall await his last breath in
prison, without remission.

Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 22 of 23


Pending applications, if any, shall stand disposed of.


…………………………J.
(VIKRAM NATH)


…………………………J.
(SANJAY KAROL)



…………………………J.
(SANDEEP MEHTA)
New Delhi
July 16, 2025.
Crl A Nos.2490-91 of 2023 Page 23 of 23