- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) The appellant, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was found guilty of offences punishable under Sections 376, 302 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code by judgment dated 12-8-1991 of the IInd Addl. Sessions Judge, Alipore, who sentenced him to death for the main offence punishable under Section 302, IPC. The appellant filed a criminal appeal before the High Court of Calcutta and there was also a Reference made under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The death penalty imposed on the appellant was confirmed by the High Court and the appeal preferred by the appellant was dismissed. The appellant thereafter filed a special leave petition. Leave was granted in the special leave petition, but the appeal was dismissed by this Court on 11-1-1994 and the death sentence imposed on the appellant was confirmed. The appellant preferred a review petition and the same was rejected on 20-1-1994. Thereupon, the appellant filed a mercy petition before the Governor of West Bengal praying to commute the capital punishment imposed upon him to any other sentence prescribed under law. The appellant was informed by the prison authorities that the Governor had declined to interfere in the matter. Aggrieved by the rejection of his mercy petition, the appellant filed a writ petition. The writ petition was dismissed by the learned single Judge of the Calcutta High Court on 14-11-2003 while upholding the order passed by the Governor. The appellant thereafter filed a writ petition seeking stay of execution and for commutation of the death sentence. The Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court dismissed the writ petition on 8-1-2004. Aggrieved by the aforesaid orders passed by the High Court, the present appeals are filed.
(3.) We heard the learned counsel for the appellant and also the counsel for the State of West Bengal.;