STATE OF U.P. versus ALOK VERMA

Citation: [2011] 11 S.C.R. 105 · Decided: 02-09-2011 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: MARKANDEY KATJU, C.K. PRASAD · Disposal: Disposed off

Judgment (excerpt)

[2011) 11 S.C.R. 10b 
STATE OF U.P. 
v. 
ALOK VERMA 
(SLP (Crl.) No. 6718 of 2011) 
SEPTEMBER 02, 2011 
[MARKANDEY KAT JU AND CHANDRAMAULI KR. 
PRASAD, JJ.] 
A 
B 
Sentence/Sentencing -
Death sentence - Accused 
committed murder of wife and four children as also caused 
C 
injuries to another daughter with knife and,axe taking help of 
a hired person -
Conviction by courts below on basis of the 
circumstantial evidencf] as also evidence of the surviving 
daughter-eye witness to the incident - Death sentence 
awarded by the trial court modified to life sentence by High 
D 
Court - On appeal, held: On facts, the said act was a ghastly 
and brutal act - It falls in the category of rarest of rare cases 
in which death sentence should have been given - Reasoning 
of the High Court reducing the award of death sentence to life 
sentence is strange - Thus, notice issued to the accused as 
E 
to why the life sentence awarded to him by the High Court 
should not be enhanced to death sentence. 
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: SLP (Crl.) No. 
6718 of 2011. 
From the Judgment & Order dated 7.8.2009 of the High 
Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Captial Jail Appeal No. 
6352 of 2008 and Reference No. 8 of 2008. 
F 
Pramod Swarup, Pareena Swarup, Pradeep Misra for the 
G 
Petitioner. 
The following Order of the Court was delivered 
105 
H 
A 
106 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2011] 11 S.C.R. 
0 R D E R 
Heard Mr. Pramod Swarup, learned senior counsel 
appearing for the petitioner-State of U.P. 
The allegations against the respondent accused, which 
B have been found true by the courts below, are that the 
respondent murdered his wife and four children (three sons and 
one daughter) and caused injuries to another daughter with knife 
and axe taking the help of a hired person. This is because his 
wife protested against his indulgence in gambling, taking liquor 
C and crimes like. kidnapping. He had earlier to undergo 
imprisonment for one year in a case of kidnapping. His wife 
tried to persuade him not to commit th~se illegal acts and get 
reformed, but instead he would often beat her, and ultimately 
he committed these ghastly and brutal crimes of murdering his 
D wife and four children, who are aged about 10, 8,.5 and 2 years 
respectively. The surviving daughter Priyanka is an eye witness 
and that apart there is convincing circumstantial evidence also 
on the basis of which the respondent has been convicted by 
the courts below. 
E 
F 
G 
H 
The injuries on the deceased Shikha, wife of the accused-
respondent are as follows :-
1. 
Multiple incised wounds over face and forehead 
size 1 cm x 0.5 cm to 3 cm x 0.5 cm bone deep. 
2. 
Incised wound 4 cm x 1 _cm trachea deep on front 
of neck below hyoid bone. On dissection the 
underlying large vessels, tracheas and nerves were 
cut. 
3. 
Incised wound 4 cm x 1 cm size muscle deep·on 
b~ck of root of neck. 
4. 
Incised wound 4 cm x .5 cm muscle deep on top of 
(Rt.) shoulder. 
STATE OF U.P. v. ALOK VERMA 
107 
-. l 
. " 
5. 
Incised wound of 3 cm x 0.5 cm m_uscle deep on 
A 
back of and middle of(Rt.) upper arm. 
1 
The injuries on the deceased Chhoutey, aged about 5 
years, son of the accused respondent are as follows:-
1 .. 
Incised wound of 3 cm x 1 cm. size skull deep till 
upper cavity of skull. This wound _was 2 cm above 
the right eyebrow on the right side of the skull. Skull 
bone was broken. Thereafter, it was found that-brain 
- and brain membrane was also cut and blood mix · 
fluid was present in t~e cavity of skull. 
2. 
Incised wound 3 cm x 1 cm size bone deep which 
was above the right eye brow on the right side of 
. . 
. 
the forehead. 
~·· l, 
. 
- . 3., 
Incised woµnd 2 cm x 1 cm size just above the injury 
. ~ 
!~ N -2.i -. ,. . 
, " 
.. 
~ t. 
·,:_ 
0 
. 
4.-. ·incised wound 2cmx1 cm size muscle deep in the 
middle of the front of the neck .. 
5. 
Contusion 8 cm x 6 cm size upon the skull. 
The injuries on Rahul, aged about 10 years, son of the 
deceased and the accused respondent, are as follows :-
l . 
'Alt 
' ; ' -1 . . 
' ' 
1. 
Contusion of 8 cm x 3 cm size on the front of the 
neck. 
. . 
2. 
Incised wound 5 cm x 1 cm breathing duct deep in 
the front of the neck. This injury was very close to 
the injury No.1 
On dissection, blood vessels, 
nerves, muscles and breathing duct etc. were found 
to be cut. 
. 3 .. ,. Incised wound 4 cm x 1 cm skull deep. This injury 
was 3 cm above the left eye, on the left side of the 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
A 
B 
108 
SUPREME COU

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