Panaji, Apr 22 (TOI): The district and sessions court on Thursday rejected prosecution plea to award capital punishment to accused Norman Fernandes in St Cruz double murder case and awarded him life imprisonment for murdering his sister and her mother-in-law.
Prosecution strongly argued that the accused deserved capital punishment as he committed gruesome murder of his close relatives, but district judge B P Deshpande observed the term rarest of rare case which is the consistent determinative rule declared by the Supreme Court itself suggests that it has to be be an exceptional case. The law contemplates recording of special reasons for awarding capital punishment and accepting that it is a rarest of rare case, he said. "In the circumstances, it has been found that the above case cannot be put into the category of gravest cases and more specifically of the rarest of rare case as far as capital punishment is concerned," the judge observed.
On September 2, 2013, the accused had killed his sister Noreen Fernandes e Vaz and her mother-in-law Aurita Anes e Vaz, while attempting to murder his sister's husband Edgar Vaz. The crime that played out at the Vaz residence occurred over property dispute.
Fernandes has been sentenced to life imprisonment on three counts. Firstly the accused was found guilty for the offence punishable under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to life imprisonment and to pay fine of 20,000, secondly the accused was found guilty for the offence under Section 302 (murder) IPC for committing murder of Norine Vaz, was sentenced to life imprisonment and to pay fine of 20,000 and thirdly, the accused was found guilty for offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC for committing murder of Auritz Vaz and was sentenced to life imprisonment and to pay fine of 20,000. "All the sentences shall run concurrently," the sessions judge observed.
During the argument on the point of sentence, it was strongly contended by the public prosecutor Poonam Bharne that the accused has betrayed the trust of his sister and her family members who allowed him to come inside the house, not knowing that he had a criminal intentions or that he was prepared to commit murder.
She submitted that awarding life imprisonment will not be appropriate punishment in the present matter considering the aggravating circumstances as compared to the mitigation circumstances. She submitted that the rarest of rare case and the adequate punishment for committing double murder is only by awarding capital punishment.
Counsel for the accused, A Prabhudessai strongly contended that from the circumstances of the case, it does not fall within the ambit of the rarest of rare case. He claimed that the accused committed such offences since he was emotionally disturbed by the so called letter which was circulated in the society admittedly having disturbing contents.
On November 28, 2013, the Old Goa police had filed a chargesheet against Norman, a music teacher by profession, in the St Cruz double murder case.