Mahindra Nath Das vs Union Of India & Ors

The Supreme Court examined whether a 12-year delay in the disposal of a petition under Article 72 of the Constitution warranted commutation of a death sentence to life imprisonment. The Court upheld the conviction under Section 302 IPC, emphasizing that the murder was heinous and fell within the 'rarest of rare' category, thus justifying the death penalty. The Court affirmed the High Court's dismissal of the writ petition, concluding that the delay did not merit a change in the sentence.