Law cannot be kind to cruel criminals: Court

NEW DELHI - The law cannot afford to be kind to those who are cruel and have no respect for others’ life, a city court has said while rejecting a leniency plea of three thieves who brutally attacked a man while committing a theft in his house in 2008.

“No leniency can be shown to persons who have no respect for life. Any person who does not hesitate in taking the law into his hands for purely monetary considerations does not deserve leniency. Any indulgence by the court, under these circumstances can be misplaced,” ruled additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, while sentencing the three thieves to varying jail terms.

“Undue sympathy, under these circumstances, (shown by) imposing inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law and order. The society cannot endure such serious threats for long,” said Lau.

The judge made the remark, while awarding punishment to Vikas, 24, Ravinder alias Sudhir, 30, and Raju, 35, convicted for committing theft in the house of Ashok Vihar resident Nathu Ram on June 6, 2008. They had attacked Ram injuring him badly when he resisted them.

The court jailed Vikas for seven years, while sentencing his accomplices Ravinder and Raju to three years each.

“Criminals are unhesitatingly and indiscriminatingly using deadly weapons against helpless victims, who may or may not offer any resistance. They are spreading terror in the society and adversely affecting social order and the faith of the people in the system,” the judge said.