KISHORI vs STATE OF DELHI — Crl.A. No. 147/1998

Summary: Crl.A. No. 000147/1998 (Kishori v. State of Delhi) The Supreme Court affirmed Kishori's conviction for murder during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi's assassination, but commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. While eyewitness testimony credibly established his participation in a mob that killed three Sikh men, the Court found death penalty unwarranted given that the killings resulted from temporary mob frenzy rather than premeditation, organized activity, or individual leadership—factors distinguishing it from the "rarest of rare cases" warranting capital punishment. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.