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36. In the aforesaid background this Court observed that special reasons, in the context of the said provision, obviously mean “exceptional reasons” founded on the exceptionally grave circumstances relating to the crime as well as the criminal. It being extremely difficult to catalogue such special reasons, they have to be construed in the facts of the case and relative weight has to be given to mitigating and aggravating factors. This Court observed that these two aspects are so intertwined that isolation of one from the other would defeat the mandate of law and held with hope that in view of the “broad illustrative guidelines” laid down therein, the Courts:

43. Incontrovertibly, the judicial approach towards sentencing has to be cautious, circumspect and careful. The Courts at all stages- trial and appellate must therefore peruse and analyze the facts of the case in hand and reach an independent conclusion which must be appropriately and cogently justified in the “reasons” or “special reasons” recorded by them for imposition of life imprisonment or death penalty. The length of the discussion would not be a touchstone for determining correctness of a decision. The test would be that reasons must be lucid and satisfy the appellate Court that the Court below has considered the case in toto and thereafter, upon balancing all the mitigating and aggravating factors, recorded the sentence.

52. We would now notice the decisions of this Court to reflect upon the various circumstances which have acted as mitigating and aggravating factors in given facts to result in commutation of sentence or confirmation of death penalty; so as to examine the sentencing policy in the backdrop of balance-sheet of such factors in the case at hand.

Cases where death sentence is confirmed: