Delhi Saket court to decide quantum of sentence of three convicts accused in Jigisha murder case

Delhi August 22Delhi’s Saket court will today pronounce the quantum of sentence for the three convicted in the Jigisha Murder case, news agency ANI reported.Two out of three convicts are awarded death sentence and one convict is sentenced to life imprisonment.

Jigisha, an operations manager at Hewitt Associates Pvt Ltd in Noida, had been abducted on March 18, 2009, after she was dropped by her office cab at 4 am in south Delhi’s Vasant Vihar. A day later, her body was found near Surajkund in Faridabad.

A Delhi court Saturday reserved its judgment on the sentencing of the three men. According to the prosecution, death penalty should be the first choice of the court as the crime was “heinous”. Advocate H R Khan and Mustafa Mumtaz, appearing for Jigisha’s parents, also pressed for death penalty, given the nature of the crime.

Special public prosecutor (SPP) Rajiv Mohan argued that the accused had committed the crime solely for the sake of pleasure. “They are also facing trial under MCOCA,” said Mohan. Asserting the need for death penalty, the SPP said the law was clear when it came to deciding such cases.

The defence lawyer sought a minimum sentence of life term, asserting that one of the accused, Ravi Kapoor was suffering from a “life-threatening disease” besides having aged parents.

In July this year, the trio was held guilty of charges pertaining to destruction of evidence, forgery, robbery and common intention under the Indian Penal Code.