Posted on 06/24/2004 7:03:53 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
Dhananjay Chatterjee, who was to be hanged on Friday for the rape and murder of a teenaged girl, got a brief respite because the President has sought the Union home ministry's opinion on his mercy petition.
In Kolkata, West Bengal's Advocate-General Balai Roy told mediapersons that a communique from Rashtrapati Bhavan said, "The President is considering this application for clemency."
Friends, relatives and some jail inmates have pleaded that Chatterjee's death sentence be changed to life imprisonment. The state had been asked to stay the execution until the President decides on the application.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has also stayed the hanging for two days to enable the West Bengal government counsel to take instructions from the state government and report back to the court.
Chatterjee's brother on Thursday moved the apex court challenging the West Bengal governor's order rejecting the convict's mercy petition.
A vacation bench of Justice K G Balakrishanan and Justice P V Reddy heard the petition, filed by Bikas Chatterjee and one Bikramjeet Batra, in a special sitting and fixed the next date of hearing for 1400 IST Friday, petitioner's counsel Colin Gonsalves and West Bengal government standing counsel Tara Chandra Sharma told reporters in Delhi.
The petitioner had challenged the governor's June 2, 2004 order on the ground of 'non-application of mind as to the mitigating circumstances' of the case. The governor has gone solely by the nature of the crime committed, as he was not appraised of the material facts of the case. The mercy petition, they said, was dismissed without following established procedure.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had upheld a Calcutta high court verdict confirming the death sentence on Chatterjee delivered in January 1994 for the rape and murder of Hetal Parekh on March 5, 1990 in a flat in Kolkata's Bhawanipur area. He is to be hanged until dead at the Alipur Central Jail in Kolkata.
Could we have the title note that this is in India, not the US please? Thanks.
Is there any way I can edit the title after posting? If yes, please tell me how and I'd do the needful.
It's just a tiny bit misleading as it is..........
Oops, I noticed too late, thanks to the one who edited the title.
No, only the Mods can do that. You might get a quicker response if you hit "abuse" and asked for help.
Thanks AM! That was quick!
Gosh! I just realised how misleading the title(original)could have been.Apologies.
Not that I care about India. But damn!! How about a little sympathy for the girl killed and her family.
Poorly written article. What are these purportedly "mitigating circumstances?"
I'm wracking my brain, but having a really tough time even coming up with possibilities as to what would mitigate a rape-murder.
Maybe she was "asking for it." That's the ticket!
err-the prez is not a nuclear scientist-he's actually an aerospace engineer-he led the Indian space rocket program in the 1980s&later the guided missile effort too-He's associated with the nuke-tag as he was scientific advisor to the government during the 98 nuclear tests&he's ceremonially elected -like the British queen .This matter will be settled by the supreme court-he doesn't have the final say.
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