SC asks MP govt to fix jail term in life sentences

 New Delhi : The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government and sought a detailed reply from it within four weeks on a plea seeking a fixed jail term in cases of life imprisonment.

The plea was filed by a legal services authority lawyer Pundit Paramanand Katara, who had appeared for a life convict.

A division bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Kurian Joseph, heard the arguments and submissions made by Katara.

"The convict named, Raghuveer Singh, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case by the Madhya Pradesh High Court for killing his wife", Katara told ANI.

"There should be a fix jail term in cases of life imprisonment and the Court should determine and fix it", he added.

Katara added that as there is no uniformity in a life sentence, the Apex Court should pass a direction and fix the jail sentence.

"Sometimes the court gives 14 years of a jail sentence, sometimes 20 years and in some cases 50 years. It depends on cases to case basis. So there should be uniformity in life imprisonment cases", Katara said in his petition.

Singh had approached the Supreme Court to fix his jail term in cases of life sentences.