Agra: An SC/ST court in Aligarh sentenced a 24-year-old man to life imprisonment for murdering a Dalit labourer in Nov 2021, observing that while his young age and family circumstances merited consideration, they “could not outweigh the gravity of an offence” that had ended the victim’s life and left his family, including two minor children, struggling.
Sher Singh, a labourer, left home for work on Nov 7, 2021, but did not return, according to case records.
special judge Pratibha Saxena said, “Sentencing cannot be a mechanical exercise and has to balance the gravity and manner of the crime, its impact on the victim and society, against the accused’s age, family circumstances, criminal history and prospects of rehabilitation While pronouncing the judgment. The court noted that the murder was “particularly grave” as the victim was not merely assaulted but beaten and dragged along a road before his body was dumped in an open plot. The next morning, his family was informed that his body had been found at a plot near a railway line. His brother, Munna Lal, found a plastic noose around his neck, gutka and pouches stuffed in his mouth, and injury marks around his eyes. The medical opinion attributed the death to coma and shock caused by the injuries. The court record also cited CCTV footage as an important piece of documentary evidence. Seeking leniency, the defence submitted that Manish , a resident of Barola Jafrabad, was unmarried, poor and had only his mother to support. The prosecution opposed leniency, citing the brutality of the crime and the impact of Singh’s death on his children, including a daughter.