Prez commutes death sentence of servant who killed 3 persons

President Pratibha Patil has commuted the death sentence of a domestic help, who had murdered a retired Brigadier and his two family members in Dehradun 18 years ago, to life imprisonment.

President Pratibha Patil has commuted the death sentence of a domestic help, who had murdered a retired Brigadier and his two family members in Dehradun 18 years ago, to life imprisonment.

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The Supreme Court, while sending Om Prakash to the gallows, had observed that "he is a menace to the society and it seems to us that the death sentence is the most appropriate punishment in this case".

The fact that Prakash was young when he committed the crime was rejected by the apex court, which noted, "the crime shocks the conscience of the society at large and of the court and the facts and circumstances unfolded in the case leave the court with an irresistible feeling that he is beyond reformation though young he is."

Patil, however, found it a fit case to be pardoned and issued orders in this regard on April 29, making Prakash the 27th case during her tenure to get mercy, according to an RTI reply provided to Bhilwara-based activist S S Ranawat.

During her tenure, Patil, has rejected the petitions of five persons, which include Rajiv Gandhi's three killers -- Santham, Murugan and Arivu; Khalistan militant Devinder Pal Singh who was convicted in 1993 Delhi car bombing and Mahendra Nath Das of Assam who had murdered a truck drivers association leader.

Patil has emerged as the most "merciful" of all presidents during the last three decades as she had commuted death sentences of 27 petitioners to life imprisonment, which is over 90% of the total pardons granted since 1981.

Prakash, who worked as a domestic help in the house of retired Brigadier Shyam Lal Khanna in Vasant Vihar locality, had killed Khanna, his son Sarit and his sister-in-law Bishna Mathur in 1994. The attack had left Khanna's wife Rama seriously injured.