The Supreme Court has held that the sentence of life imprisonment has to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life in a plea challenging the order of the Gauhati High Court, whose conviction and sentence was upheld, and the SLP dismissed.
The petitioner, Md Alfaz Ali, had been convicted under Section 302 IPC for killing his wife suspecting her of infidelity and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life by the Gauhati High Court. He then moved the SLP in the Supreme Court, which was heard by a bench of Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice B.R. Gavai.
Petitioner’s counsel A. Sirajudeen submitted that the issue is no more res integra as it is covered by a judgment of this Court in Naib Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors.
Assam counsel Debojit Borkakati submitted the arguments that are advanced in these cases have been considered by the Supreme Court earlier and were rejected relying upon the judgment of this Court in Dilpesh Balchandra Panchal v. State of Gujarat. Accordingly, the bench confirmed its 1983 verdict and opined that this Judgement is fixed in law, so there is no need to review it again.
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According to the case of Naib Singh v. State of Punjab & Ors, the petitioner relates to sentence of imprisonment for life not to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life. The court taking into account the earlier judgments in Pandit Kishori Lal v. King Emperor and Gopal Vinayak Godse v. State of Maharashtra held in Naib Singh case that the sentence of imprisonment for life has to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life.
The court dismissed the petition mentioning that the law laid down by it in Naib Singh’s was followed in three judgments Dilpesh Balchandra Panchal v. State of Gujarat, Sat Pal alias Sadhu v. State of Haryana 5 and Mohd. Munna v. Union of India.
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