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THAT DREADED NIGHT
* The incident took place on the night of September 2, 2013 over a property dispute
* Fernandes stabbed his sister Noreen Fernandes e Vaz and her mother-in-law Aurita Anes e Vaz to death
* In the same incident, he grievously injured his brother-in-law
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PANAJI: The Principal District and Sessions Court on Thursday sentenced Norman Fernandes to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of committing double murder at Santa Cruz in 2013. The convict has also been ordered to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation.
He was sentenced under Section 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restrain), 302 (for murder) and 307 (for attempted murder).
Fernandes, who has been under judicial custody since his arrest two years and seven months ago, has been allowed a set off for this period of detention undergone by him.
Fernandes was convicted last week by District and Sessions Judge BP Deshpande. The court in its order refused to bring this case under the ‘rarest of the rare’ bracket.
The court observed that the manner and circumstances under which the offence was committed showed emotional disturbance to an extreme extent and that Fernandes had lost his thinking capacity while displaying mental imbalance even in the aftermath of the crime.
Absence of criminal record and age of the accused at the time of offence, 34 years, was also given due consideration.
“Merely because a crime is heinous per se may not be sufficient reason for imposition of death penalty without reference to other factors and attendant circumstances,” reads the judgement.
