The Calcutta High Court's Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri has commuted the death sentence awarded to a man convicted of killing his wife with an axe inside her parental home, allegedly in front of their seven-year-old son. A Division Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Smita Das De upheld his conviction for murder and attempt to murder, but held that the trial court had not properly weighed the mitigating circumstances before sending him to the gallows.
Background Of The Case
The incident took place on June 20, 2023, at Maynaguri in Jalpaiguri district. As per the prosecution's case, Sujit Dey Bhowmik attacked his wife, Mitali Dey Bhowmick, with an axe at her mother's house, where the family had gathered. When Mitali's mother, Kalpana Sarkar, and grandmother, Hiranbala Sarkar, rushed in to save her, the appellant allegedly struck them too. Mitali died of her injuries, while the two other women survived with serious wounds.
The Additional Sessions Judge, 3rd Court, Jalpaiguri, had convicted Sujit under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC on April 10, 2025, awarding him the death penalty for murder and life imprisonment for the attempt on the lives of the other two women. He was acquitted of the cruelty charge under Section 498A. Two other family members named in the case were acquitted as well.
Arguments In Appeal
Counsel for the appellant, Mr. Aniruddha Biswas, argued that the ocular evidence contained contradictions and that the recovery of the murder weapon did not meet the legal standards required for a valid disclosure statement under the Evidence Act. He further submitted that the trial court had imposed the death sentence casually, without calling for a prison conduct report or examining the possibility of the appellant's reform.
The State opposed the appeal, submitting that four eyewitnesses, including two injured persons, had given consistent accounts of the incident, and that the recovery and medical evidence corroborated the prosecution's case.
Court's Observations
The Bench found the testimony of the eyewitnesses, including the minor son and the two injured witnesses, credible and well corroborated by medical records, and upheld the conviction on that basis.
On the question of sentence, however, the Court disagreed with the trial court's reasoning. It noted that the trial judge had relied heavily on the meaning of Vedic marriage rituals to conclude that the case fell in the "rarest of rare" category, without calling for any report on the appellant's conduct in custody or his psychological state.
The Bench observed:
"Rigorous imprisonment for life is the rule and death sentence is an exception. The manner in which the crime was committed in this case does not stand the test of being a rarest of rare case... We do not agree to the death penalty. Every person guilty of commission of a grave offence can undergo transformation."
The Court took note of a Probation Officer's report indicating that the appellant had no prior criminal record, was undergoing counselling, and showed a possibility of reform.
Decision
The Calcutta High Court upheld the conviction of Sujit Dey Bhowmik under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC but commuted his death sentence to rigorous imprisonment for life.
The Death Reference and the connected criminal appeal were disposed of accordingly.
Case Details
Case Title: State of West Bengal vs. Sujit Dey Bhowmik
Case Number: D.R. 3 of 2025 with CRA (DB) 32 of 2025
Judges: Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Smita Das De
Decision Date: August 28, 2026
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