Kidnap, murder of children are crimes against society - court

Court cannot close its eyes and allow culprits to go scot-free

Kidnapping for ransom and murder of children are heinous crimes against society and should be firmly dealt with, the Supreme Court said.

It upheld the life sentence awarded by the trial court, and confirmed by the Delhi High Court, to an accused for killing a nine-year-old schoolboy in the capital as his parents could not meet the demand for a Rs. 20-lakh ransom.

A Bench of Justices P. Sathasivam and B.S. Chauhan dismissed, at the admission stage itself, the appeal by Narender Chauhan against the High Court judgment. Justice Sathasivam told his counsel that there was ample evidence produced by the prosecution and the crime was proved beyond doubt. “We see in the media that such kidnapping incidents are happening all over the country almost everyday. Parents are apprehending as to what will happen to their children who are sent to school which cannot give protection to everyone. The court cannot close its eyes, apply technicalities and allow the culprits to go scot-free. In fact, we wanted to issue notice [asking] why the death sentence should not be imposed on the appellant, but since only one of the accused has come on appeal, we are not issuing notice.”

The prosecution case was that Narender and two others kidnapped Milan Mittal on January 4, 2002 and, when their ransom demand was not met, strangulated the boy and threw the body into the Yamuna. The sessions court awarded life imprisonment to Narender and his accomplice Ritesh Mittal but acquitted Jaffar.