The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to immediately suspend the conviction and punishment of Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Raju Kumar Singh in connection with the death of a woman during a celebratory shooting at his farm in south Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri on New Year’s Eve in 2018, stating that the crime with which he was charged was serious.
A division bench of Justice Manoj Jain issued notice in Singh’s applications and sought response from Delhi Police and asked the same to also be served on the family of the deceased for response and listed the matter for further hearing on July 24.
“It is unfortunate. Why should you seek suspension of the conviction? Section 304 (IPC) is a serious offence.”
She added: “The Additional State Prosecutor appears with prior notice and seeks time to file the reply to the application seeking comment. For the representatives of the deceased to be notified as well, so that their response can be taken. Notice is issued in the applications.”
The court passed the order on an appeal filed by Singh against the order of the lower court. The trial court had convicted Singh, in June, under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder with knowledge) of the Indian Penal Code and under the provisions of the Arms Act relating to breach of license conditions.
The ruling stipulates a maximum penalty of imprisonment for ten years, a fine, or both.
Read also:BJP MLA Raju Singh urges the court to spare him jail time in the deadly celebratory shooting case
In July, the court sentenced him to four years in prison, criticizing gun culture and saying: “We need neither Singham nor Pushpa in a country governed by the rule of law.”
The court also ordered Singh to pay $25 lakh as compensation to 45-year-old Archana Gupta, a family member of the victim.
The judge said that a four-year prison sentence and the time it allows the convict to reflect and reform must, in the court’s judgment, serve as a punishment proportionate to the crime and of strong deterrent value against similar acts of reckless shooting by politicians and others alike in social functions.
This came after Singh’s lawyer, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, urged the court to suspend his sentence and convict him.
He said that $The amount of 25 thousand compensation, which was awarded by the court of first instance to the family of the deceased, will be deposited in the register within two days. He further said that the entire case was based on seven eyewitnesses, four of whom did not corroborate the case.
