The Delhi High Court was hearing appeals in a murder case
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said society is losing faith in the system due to delinquency which has to be dealt with a stern hand. The high court, which was dealing with appeals against conviction and life sentences of an accused in a murder case, said safety is paramount for people to lead a good, dignified life and even if one life is lost, it is an irreparable loss of the nation.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani dismissed the appeals in the case in which the two accused had murdered a 25-year-old factory worker while robbing him of his mobile phone.
The bench said, "Before parting with the case, it would be trite to note that the present is an extremely unfortunate case where a young boy, who worked hard in order to make ends meet, tragically lost his life because of the menace created by the delinquents of society."
"Safety and security of the people are axiomatically paramount for them to lead a good, dignified life. Owing to delinquency, society is losing faith in the system. The offenders, thus, need to be dealt with a stern hand. Even one life lost is an irreparable loss we bear as a nation forever," the court said as it dismissed the two appeals.
The court noted that in July 2012, when the witness and the victim, who worked at a factory of slippers, were returning from work, the accused approached them on a motorcycle and "forcibly searched" the pocket of the witness.
They subsequently snatched and robbed the mobile phone of the victim and one of them stabbed him on his thigh, it added. The court said the homicidal death was not in dispute and the testimony of the witness - that the victim had been stabbed in the thigh with a knife - corroborated the medical evidence as well as the statements made by police officials.