New Delhi, March 02: In a case of honour killing the Supreme Court sent a man from Karnataka to jail for life for killing his pregnant daughter 13 years ago.
The top court not only rejected the man’s appeal against the High Court verdict, punishing him with just 10-year jail term for the dastardly act, but also enhanced his incarceration period.
A bench headed by Justice Kurien Joseph ruled the man deserved severe punishment for murdering his daughter and had a motive to do so because he felt “ashamed” when she eloped with her lover belonging to a lower caste.
The apex court disagreed with the HC judgement that spared the convict Gandi Doddabasappa a harsher punishment and convicted him for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
“It would necessarily follow that the accused committed murder of his daughter Shilpa who was in the advanced stage of pregnancy and for which he was liable to be punished with either imprisonment for life or death under Section 302 of IPC alone,” the bench said, ruling out death for the convict.
Doddabasappa’s daughter Shilpa – who hailed from the Lingayat community — fell in love with Ravi Kumar from the Naik community. The couple eloped and got married in court in 2002 and Shilpa started living with her in-laws.
On October 3, 2003, her father went to her in-laws’ house and killed her in bathroom.
Shilpa’s mother-in-law saw him running away from the spot wth a blood-stained sickle. A complaint was lodged with the police in which it was alleged that the accused had threatened to kill Shilpa earlier also.
The trial court had acquitted the father, a decision reversed by the HC.
Before the top court Doddabasappa had wished to withdraw his appeal after the SC said it would enhance his punishment. His request was declined because the SC felt 10-year jail term was not sufficient for such a heinous crime.
