The Hindu : Front Page : Life term for Pravin Mahajan

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Wednesday, Dec 19, 2007
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Life term for Pravin Mahajan

Special Correspondent

MUMBAI: Sessions Judge S.P. Davare on Tuesday sentenced Pravin Mahajan to life imprisonment for killing his brother and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan. The judge did not accept the prosecution argument that it was the rarest of rare case deserving death.

On Monday, the court held Pravin guilty of murder under Sections 302 (murder) and 449 (house trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

On April 22, 2006, Pravin shot Pramod, who died of injuries on May 3, 2006.

The order said that “after drawing a balance sheet of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances and considering the background of the family of the victim,” it was of the considered view that “the offence of murder is not in the rarest of rare category.”

The extreme penalty need not be inflicted as it was not the gravest case of extreme culpability. For an offence under Section 302 of the IPC “imprisonment for life shall meet the ends of justice.”

The court also took into account the fact that the accused was the sole breadwinner of the family. Pravin was also sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.5,000 under Section 449 of the IPC. The sentences will run concurrently. Mr. Davare asked Pravin if he had anything to say on the quantum of sentence, to which he said no.

Earlier, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam demanded the death penalty, saying this was not merely a cold-blooded murder, but a “frozen-blooded murder.” It was planned, and the accused deserved no leniency.

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