SC saves man from gallows,says murders committed due to poverty

SC has altered to life imprisonment the death sentence imposed on a man who killed his wife and two minor children in Punjab's Jalandhar district.

Taking the view that the accused committed the triple murder due to extreme poverty,the Supreme Court has altered to life imprisonment the death sentence imposed on a man who killed his wife and two minor children in Punjab’s Jalandhar district.

“There is nothing on record to show that appellant (Sushil Kumar) is a habitual offender. He appears to be a peace-loving,law-abiding citizen. But as he was poverty- stricken,he thought in his wisdom to completely eliminate his family so that all problems would come to an end.

“Precisely,this appears to be the reason for him to consume some poisonous substances,after committing the offence of murder,” a bench of Justices V S Sirpurkar and Deepak Verma said in a judgement.

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According to the prosecution,on March 4,2005 Sushil Kumar had strangulated his wife Pooja,son Jatin (6) and daughter Sofia (4) to death. Thereafter,he is said to have consumed some sedatives to end his life but survived.

Kumar is said to have committed the gruesome crime as he was unemployed having lost his job in a shop. He used to take loans from others to feed the family.

A sessions court convicted and sentenced him to death and the Punjab and Haryana High Court confirmed the capital punishment,after which he appealed in the apex court.

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