The Supreme Court on Monday, 25th August, gave a fresh chance to death row convict Vasanta Sampat Dupare by reopening his sentencing. The Court stated that it had to reconsider his punishment in view of its 2022 judgment in Manoj vs State of Madhya Pradesh, which had formulated mandatory protections for granting the death penalty.
The three-judge Bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sanjay Karol, and Justice Sandeep Mehta concurred to revisit Dupare’s sentencing. The judges stated Article 32 enables the Court to intervene when a fundamental right of an accused is infringed, particularly if procedures in death penalty matters are not adhered to.
“The corrective power under Article 32 is invoked to ensure that a person is not deprived of his fundamental right to equal treatment by being denied the rigorous safeguards required at the sentencing stage,” the Court observed.
At the same time, the Bench explained that this extraordinary power cannot be employed lightly. It emphasised that reopening old matters under Article 32 should be an exception and would be exercised only when grave violations of procedure erode the right to life.
The Bench cautioned, “Article 32 is the bedrock of constitutional remedies, but its special scope can’t become a routine for reopening concluded matters. Such reopening will be allowed only where breaches of safeguards are so serious that leaving them uncorrected would undermine the accused’s right to life.”
Background of the case
Dupare was found guilty of raping and killing a four-year-old girl and sentenced to death, a sentence affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2014. His review petition was rejected in 2017, with the Court labelling the crime one of “extreme depravity.” Then, his mercy petitions to the Governor and the President were also refused in 2022 and 2023.
Having tried all these avenues, Dupare approached the Supreme Court a second time, this time seeking a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. In his writ petition, he stated that even though his case was concluded, he was entitled to a rethink since his sentencing had not adhered to the protection the Court had established in 2022.
Fresh hearing ordered
By Monday’s order, the Court overruled its previous 3rd May order that had upheld Dupare’s death penalty. It is ordered that the case now be referred before the Chief Justice of India, who will allot it to an appropriate Bench for a retrial on a fresh hearing. This fresh hearing will be only on sentencing, not on conviction.
“The sentence awarded by this Court on 3rd May is set aside and the matter is remitted to this Court for a fresh hearing on sentence alone to be conducted in conformity with Manoj,” the Bench said.
Arguments in court
At the hearing, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who appeared on behalf of Dupare, contended that safeguards made in the 2022 Manoj judgment should also extend to his case. The judgment had made it obligatory for courts to scrutinise carefully mitigating circumstances, including the background of the convict, his mental state, and the possibility of rehabilitation, before the death penalty could be awarded.
On the other side, the Advocate General for Maharashtra opposed the plea. He said Dupare could not use Article 32 to reopen a case that had already reached finality and should have instead pursued a review petition.
The Bench had also shown apprehensions at previous hearings. Justice Nath had said, “It is a dangerous proposition that after any judgment or a matter which is closed can be opened up under Article 32.” Justice Karol also questioned whether the Court’s hands were “tied under Article 32” in such cases.