Delhi Court sentences man to life imprisonment for burning wife to death

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court has recently awarded a life sentence to a man who killed his wife by burning her in 2014. The court stated that the case does not fall under the category of “rarest of rare” cases.

An FIR was registered at the Sarai Rohilla Railway Station police station in 2014. The court had held the accused guilty of murder on April 9, 2025.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Virender Kumar Kharta sentenced Giriraj Kishor Bhardwaj alias Shyam Nagar for murdering his wife Kusum.
The court rejected poverty as a significant mitigating factor and noted that the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating ones.

While sentencing the convict on May 17, the court said, “In the present case, the aggravating circumstances have outweighed the mitigating circumstances, but still, the present case does not fall within the purview of the rarest of rare doctrine.”

During arguments on sentencing, the defence counsel requested a lenient view.

It was argued that the convict belongs to the economically weaker section of society. The counsel also stated that the convict’s father is a senior citizen suffering from various ailments, and his mother has already passed away.

It was further submitted that the convict is a first-time offender and could be reformed. Therefore, minimum punishment should be considered.

On the other hand, the prosecution sought the maximum punishment for the convict. Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) argued that the convict committed the heinous offence of murdering his wife and deserved the maximum penalty.

He further submitted that the sons of the convict and the deceased have suffered immensely due to the convict’s actions, as they had to discontinue their studies after the murder of their mother.

It was also pointed out that the elder son of the convict and the deceased has become a drug addict, while the younger son, a minor, is now working as a helper to a vegetable vendor.

Regarding compensation to the family members of the deceased, the court said that since Kusum is already deceased, the convict cannot directly compensate her legal heirs.

Therefore, the court directed on May 17 that compensation will be awarded to the legal heirs of the deceased Kusum under Section 357A CrPC, as per the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018 (Part-I). (ANI)