Shimla, Sept 23,
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has modified the sentencing in the Yug abduction and murder case, a crime that left Shimla shaken more than a decade ago. A division bench comprising Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Rakesh Kanthla has reduced the death sentence of two convicts, Chandra Sharma and Vikrant Bakshi, to life imprisonment, while acquitting the third accused, Tajendra Pal. This judgement was reserved in August this year, after hearing the parties.
” The 235 paged judgment noted that “the material on record does not show that the accused cannot be reformed, hence we are unable to confirm the death penalty imposed by the learned Trial Court despite our indignation towards the crime and the same is reduced to life imprisonment”. The High Court specified that the life sentence will mean “the natural life of the convicts till their last breath”.
Moreover, the Himachal Pradesh High Court, not only commuted the death sentences of Chander Sharma and Vikrant Bakshi to life imprisonment but also acquitted them of offenses punishable under Sections 347 and 364A of the Indian Penal Code. The court also entirely acquitted Tejinder Pal Singh of all charges.
The earlier ruling of the District and Sessions Court in September 2018 had held all three guilty and awarded them the death penalty, categorising the crime among the “rarest of rare†cases.
The Division Bench stated, “The death reference received from the learned Trial Court is answered by holding that the accused does not deserve the death sentence in the present case.” The paged judgment cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Swamy Shraddananda (2) V. State of Karnataka to support its decision to reduce the sentence to “the natural life of the convicts till their last breath.”
Background of the case
The case dates back to June 14, 2014, when four-year-old Yug was abducted from Ram Bazaar in Shimla. Soon after, his father received a ransom demand of Rs 3.5 crore. Two years later, in August 2016, investigators recovered the child’s skeletal remains from a water tank in Bharari. The probe revealed chilling details — the accused had allegedly tied stones to the child and thrown him alive into a tank near Bharari.
The state CID filed its charge sheet in October 2016, leading to the start of the trial in February 2017. After more than a year of proceedings, the trial court sentenced all three accused to death on September 6, 2018, highlighting the extreme brutality of the crime.
Also read:Â https://himachalscape.com/hp-high-court-reserves-verdict-on-death-sentence-in-yug-murder-case/
Reacting to the High Court’s decision, Yug’s father, Vinod Gupta, expressed deep disappointment, stating on social media: “Eleven years have passed … the guilty must be executed; only then can justice to my son be done.†The family has made it clear that they intend to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court, underlining their belief that the reduction in sentence diminishes the gravity of the crime.
Public sentiment in Shimla remains strongly in favour of harsher punishment, reflecting the outrage and sorrow that gripped the city when the crime first came to light. Many residents feel that justice has been delayed repeatedly, leaving the family without closure even after 11 years. With the matter now expected to move to the Supreme Court, the final decision on whether the convicts face the gallows or spend the rest of their lives behind bars will rest with the apex court, keeping the public and the victim’s family anxiously awaiting closure.
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