Himachal HC Commutes Death Sentences To Life In Shimla Yug Murder Case; State & Family To Approach SC

The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday reduced the death penalty of 2 men convicted in the infamous Yug kidnapping and murder case to life imprisonment and acquitted a 3rd accused, sparking outrage from the victim’s family and the State government.

A special bench of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Rakesh Kanthla modified the 2018 trial court verdict that had sentenced Chander Sharma, Tejinder Pal, and Vikrant Bakshi to death. While Sharma and Bakshi will now serve life terms, Pal has been cleared of all charges.

State To Appeal In Supreme Court

Speaking after the ruling, Additional Advocate General Jitender Sharma said the State was dissatisfied with the outcome.

“We are not happy with the judgment. Once we go through the full order, we will certainly move the Supreme Court to challenge both the commutation and the acquittal of Tejinder Pal,” he said.

Father’s Anguish

The victim’s father, Vinod Gupta, expressed deep disappointment and vowed to continue fighting for justice.

“Even after 11 years, Yug has not received justice. The convicts should have been hanged. Instead, they are still alive. I will approach the Supreme Court and demand capital punishment,” Gupta said.

The Case So Far

June 14, 2014: Four-year-old Yug was kidnapped from Ram Bazaar in Shimla, with the abductors demanding ₹3.5 crore ransom.

August 2016: His skeletal remains were discovered in a Bharaari water tank. Investigators found that he had been thrown alive into the tank with stones tied to his body.

The case was investigated by the CID, which filed its chargesheet in October 2016.

During the trial, 105 witnesses were examined.

On September 6, 2018, the district and sessions court sentenced all three accused to death, describing the crime as one of the “rarest of rare.”

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