The Supreme Court in New Delhi

INDIA: SUPREME COURT COMMUTES DEATH TO LIFE TO FATHER WHO RAPED DAUGHTER AND KILLED HER AND HIS WIFE

January 28, 2013: The Supreme Court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment of a man who was accused in India of raping his minor daughter and killing both his wife and the girl.
The court said it is not a rarest of rare case warranting death penalty but said the accused will have to be in jail till the end of his life.
This judgement comes after the JS Verma committee report recommended that rape and murder accused would have to spend their entire life in jail. Mohinder Singh raped his 12-year-old minor daughter in 1999. He was awarded 12-year jail term by lower court in Punjab and confirmed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In January 2005, Mohinder came out on parole and killed his wife who was a witness to the rape, and the daughter he had raped.
The trial court then awarded the death sentence to Mohinder which was later confirmed by the High Court.
Mohinder then filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Justice P Sathasivam in his judgement today said, "We find it difficult to hold that the appellant is such a dangerous person that sparing his life will endanger the community.  We are also not satisfied that the circumstances of the crime are such that there is no other alternative but to impose death sentence even after according maximum weightage to the mitigating circumstances in favour of the accused.  In our considered view, this case is the one in which humanist approach must be taken in the matter of awarding punishment." (Sources: ndtv.com, 28/01/2013)