state of west bengal vs BHUPAL @PUNA CHHETERI — 166/2023

Court Decision Summary The Additional District Judge, Alipurduar convicted Bhupal @ Puna Chhetri of murder under Section 302 IPC for brutally killing Lok Bahadur Rai in a premeditated, daylight attack. While the prosecution sought the death penalty, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment (till natural death) after applying the "Rarest of Rare" test and finding that mitigating circumstances—including no prior criminal record, good behavior, and possibility of reform—outweighed aggravating factors. The convict was additionally ordered to pay ₹50,000 fine (with one year additional imprisonment in default) and ₹2,00,000 compensation to the victim's family. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.