The Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment can be imposed only when the possibility of a convict's reformation is completely ruled out and life imprisonment is unquestionably inadequate.
Applying the principle, the bench commuted the death sentence of a man convicted in 2018 of sexually assaulting and murdering his six-year-old stepdaughter, directing natural life imprisonment without remission.
The court criticized the trial court for sentencing the accused to death on the same day without a separate hearing, and held that ordinary life imprisonment with remission is inadequate.