SC upholds death penalty to woman, lover for killing seven

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence of a couple for killing all the seven members of the girl’s family, holding that the “couple indulged in such debased act of multiple murders driven by infatuation and exhibited no remorse”.

Upholding the death sentence of Shabnam and her paramour Salim, a bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu, Justice SA <g data-gr-id="21">Bobde</g> and Justice Arun Mishra said: “The accused persons’ preparedness, active involvement, scheming execution and subsequent conduct reeks of calculated and motivated murders.”

Pronouncing the judgment, Chief Justice Dattu said: “The act of slaughtering a <g data-gr-id="25">ten month old</g> child by strangulation in no chance reflects immature action but evidence for the lack of remorse, kindness and humanity. The crime is committed in the <g data-gr-id="24">most cruel</g> and inhuman manner which is extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical and revolting.”

Therefore, the court said that the “instant case requires us to award a punishment that is graduated and proportioned to the crime... we have reached the inescapable conclusion that the extreme culpability of both the appellants - accused (Shabnam and Salim) makes them the most deserving for death penalty”.

On the intervening night of April 14/14, 2008, Shabnam had killed her mother, father, her elder brother, his wife, their 10-month old child, another brother and her minor niece.

Holding that the accused girl was from an educated family and herself a teacher, the court said: “Such a deed would be sufficiently appalling were the perpetrator and the victims are uneducated and backward, but it gains a ghastly illumination from the descent, moral upbringing, and elegant respectful living of the educated family where the father and daughter are both teachers.”