Man awarded life term for stabbing a person to death

A man, accused of stabbing a person to death with a broken beer bottle under the influence of alcohol in 2012, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court.
Special Judge Shail Jain held 30-year-old Rameshwar guilty of killing Asif, saying "all circumstances, as proved by the prosecution, point to the guilt of the accused."
The judge, however, said that it is not a rarest of rare case to award death penalty.
"I, therefore, sentence the convict to rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs 20,000..." the judge said.
The court relied on circumstantial evidence to convict the accused saying no contradiction was found in the statements of four public witnesses produced by the prosecution.

"Counsel for the accused had cross examined the witnesses in detail but has not been able to bring out any contradiction in the testimonies of witnesses," the court observed.

"All the four public witnesses have categorically stated that they have seen the accused running away from the spot, while one of the witnesses... Had seen the accused coming out of a vehicle in which the injured was lying, who later succumbed," it added.
According to the prosecution, Rameshwar hit Asif with a broken bottle with the intention to kill him and thereby caused his death on June 1, 2012 at about 1.30 a.M in front of a Food Bazar at Sarai Rohilla in Central Delhi.

The accused, who had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, sought leniency saying he was the sole bread-earner of his family and has already been in jail since June 5, 2012.
The accused had claimed during the trial that none of the witnesses had seen him causing any injury to the deceased but the court, while dismissing this argument, said "...It is not very material as the present case can be considered as a case of circumstantial evidence.