Chandigarh: Expressing shock over a series of attempt to rape, rape and murder of girls by a serial killer, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today upheld his life imprisonment.
Dispensing away with the judgment against an appeal filed by the serial killer, Satish, a resident of Haryana, a Division Bench headed by Justice A.K. Goel of the High Court held that the accused should be made to stay behind bars for a minimum of 20 years. Satish was booked on charges of rape, murder, molestation and abduction. He was held guilty by the trial court in as many as nine cases of raping and murdering nine girls, all below 10 years of age.
Satish, who is behind the bars for more than 10 years, had moved the High Court in appeal, seeking that his conviction be set aside. It may be mentioned here that Satish was held guilty by the trial court after he had confessed to his heinous crimes before a Judicial Magistrate. Satish had moved the High Court, taking the plea that he had not confessed anything and all the confessions made were not recorded properly.
However, after perusing the judgments, the High Court concluded that all the confessions made by the serial killer before the Magistrate were recorded properly. The High Court further held that the confessions were recorded by the Magistrate in his own handwriting and were read to the accused. In his confessions, the serial killer had confessed that he had abducted nine girls, raped them and then strangulated them to death.
Upholding his life imprisonment, the High Court did not award him death penalty.
“The offence committed is heinous, but taking a global view, extreme penalty of death is not called for. These cases, apart from being revelatory of sinful level to which an obsessive maniac can go to endeavour satiation of lust, are also a reminder that the relevant machinery must be so well-oiled that such desperadoes are not allowed to be on the prowl for a long duration because people with such frame of mind are a menace to the campuses of all segments of society and also punitive justice,” the High Court held.
Source: ENS