A bench comprising justices H L Dattu, S J Mukhopadhaya and M Y Eqbal made the observation while cautioning courts to act with utmost responsibility when awarding death penalty as it is the exception and life sentence is the rule.
"In a civilised society, a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye ought not to be the criterion to clothe a case with rarest of the rare jacket and the courts must not be propelled by such notions in a haste resorting to capital punishment...
While modifying the trial court verdict awarding death to the appellant, Gudda alias Dwarikendra, which was upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, the bench said, "We cannot lose sight of the fact that brutality also cannot be the only criterion for determining whether a case falls under the rarest of rare categories.
"The degree of brutality has to be ascertained in contrast with other cases and the criteria and the tests laid down (by the apex court in other cases)."
Dwarikendra had been convicted and awarded capital punishment for stabbing to death a man, his pregnant wife and their five-year-old son after inviting them to his home for lunch.