BANGALORE, APRIL 13. The former judge of the Karnataka High Court, H.G.Balakrishna, has said that imposing death penalty on an individual is a primitive concept and when a person has no right to take away another human life, there is no logic or rationale behind the State executing that right.
Mr. Balakrishna was speaking at the “South India regional convention against death penalty” organised by the Human Rights Cell, Indian Social Institute, Bangalore; the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Karnataka; the People’s Watch; Soco Trust, Madurai; the Tribal People’s Association, Tamil Nadu; and the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring here on Tuesday. The objective of the convention was to plead for mercy for the aides of the forest brigand, Gnana Prakasam, Simon, Bilevendran and Madaiah, who have been sentenced to death and are now lodged in the Hindalaga jail in Belgaum district.
Arguing against the very ethics involved in imposing death penalty, Mr. Balakrishna said there was no justification for capital punishment. Reformation should be the only punishment, he added.
H.S. Doreswamy, noted Gandhian, appealed for commuting the death sentence of the convicts, and commented on the stand of Abdul Kareem, father of the slain sub-inspector, Shakeel Ahmed, on the issue. ” We all sympathise with Mr. Kareem. But asking for the death of these people is not appropriate,” he said.
The convention was addressed by a number of persons including Donna Fernandez of Vimochana; Geetha Menon of Stree Jagruti Samithi; V.P. Gunasekaran, General secretary, Tamil Nadu Pazhangudi Makkal Sangam; Kolathur Mani, President, Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam; G. Sugumaran of Makkal Urimai Kootamaippu, Pondicherry; Ruth Manorma of Women’s Voice; Papa Mohan, an advocate from Coimbatore; Mohammad Omar Sharieff of Karnataka Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam Students wing; Rahamatulla, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam; and Ketan and Rohan from NALSAR, Hyderabad. Gnana Prakasam’s father, Joseph, wife, Selva Mary, Madiah’s wife, Thangammal, Bilevendran’s wife, Kamala Mary, and Simon’s father, Joseph, were seen shedding tears and pleading for commuting the death sentence of the four convicts.
The Hindu / 14.04.2004.
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