MACHHI SINGH AND OTHERS vs STATE OF PUNJAB

The Supreme Court addressed the imposition of the death penalty under Section 302 IPC, emphasizing that it should only be applied in the 'rarest of rare cases' as established in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab. The Court held that the extreme penalty of death must consider both the circumstances of the offender and the crime, with life imprisonment being the default punishment. The appeals of two convicts were allowed while the others were dismissed, affirming the need for a careful balance of aggravating and mitigating factors in sentencing.