GUWAHATI, Jan 30 � The Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice PK Saikia today dismissed the writ petition (No 35/2011) filed by Mahendra Nath Das against execution of his death sentence.
Mahendra Nath Das was sentenced to death by a judgement and order pronounced on August 18, 1997 by the Sessions Judge, Kamrup in a session case (No 114 (K)/96) for committing murder of Hara Kanta Das on April 24, 1996. The sentence of death was confirmed by the Gauhati High Court on February 3, 1998 and thereafter, the Supreme Court by an order on May 14, 1999 upheld the death sentence of Das. The convict, Das filed a mercy petition June 4, 1999 before the President of India and on May 27, 2011, the mercy petition was rejected by the President.
Earlier, the mother of the convict, Kusumbala Das, filed a writ petition (criminal No 17/11) before the High Court for a direction to prohibit the execution of death sentence and for alteration of the death sentence into life imprisonment.
The Court by a judgement and order issued on September 8 dismissed the said petition on the ground that the convict�s mother had neither locus nor authority to file such petition. The Bench heard the petition at length and today passed the judgement and did not incline to interfere with the death sentence of Das and dismissed the petition.
