New Delhi, April 3: The Supreme Court today defined “rarest of rare” cases that would attract the death penalty.

Capital punishment could be awarded when a “murder is committed in an extremely brutal, grotesque, diabolical, revolting or dastardly manner so as to arouse intense and extreme indignation of the community”, the court said.

If the motive betrays depravity and meanness, or if a backward or minority community member is killed not for personal reasons but to arouse social wrath, the accused should get death, it added.

“Bride burning” and “dowry deaths” — including cases where murder is committed in order to remarry and extract dowry again — as well as killing the wife to marry another woman should attract capital punishment.

The court said a convict could be sent to the gallows if the crime is enormous in proportion. For instance, when multiple murders are committed targeting all or almost all members of one family, or a large number of persons of a caste, community or locality.

Also if the murder victim is a child, who could not have or has not provided even an excuse, much less any provocation for the crime.

Killing a defenceless woman, or a person helpless because of old age or infirmity, or when the victim is a person vis-a-vis whom the murderer is in a position of domination or trust, would invite death.

As would the assassination of a respected public figure for political reasons.

The court iterated the definition of rarest of rare cases while upholding the death penalty awarded to a tenant who killed his landlord’s children after he was asked to pay rent.

Prajeet Kumar Singh killed the landlord’s son Deepak, 16, daughter Kiran, 15, and niece Pooja, 8. He also tried to murder the landlord, Pawan Kumar Thakur, his wife Geeta Devi as well as their oldest son Prakash, who was his friend.

Prajeet used to frequent the Thakurs’ home in Bettiah, Bihar, and persuaded the family to allow him to stay with them. He was their tenant for four years and paid Rs 500 a month for his food and lodging. But he had skipped the rent for several months and owed Thakur Rs 4,000.

When the landlord demanded the arrears, Prajeet, his father and two relatives planned to finish off the family. Around 2am on April 19, 1998, when they were asleep, Prajeet assaulted them with a sharp weapon, killing the children.

A sessions court sentenced him to death. The apex court upheld the verdict saying: “There does not appear to be any apparent provocation... for committing the ghastly, brutal murder of three innocent, defenceless children who were aged 8, 15 and 16 years.”