Death Sentence Commuted Due to Split Verdict Between Division Bench: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court recently addressed a rare and sensitive legal situation—whether the death penalty can be affirmed when two judges of a Division Bench have delivered conflicting views on conviction. Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary, hearing the Death Reference, held that a divergence of judicial opinion itself makes it impermissible to uphold the death sentence. Background Of The Case The case arose after a Division Bench earlier issued contradictory findings.…