15.
The appeal has been pending before this Court for the past four
years. Since the appellant has been in jail, we wanted to know
whether there was any attempt on his part for reformation. The
superintendent of the jail has given a certificate that his conduct in
jail has been good. Thus, there is a clear indication that despite
having lost all hope, yet no frustration has set on the appellant. On
the contrary, there was a conscious effort on his part to lead a good
life for the remaining period. A convict is sent to jail with the hope
and expectation that he would make amends and get reformed. That
there is such a positive change on a death row convict, in our view,
should also weigh with the Court while taking a decision as to
whether the alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed. As held
by the Constitution Bench in Bachan Singh (supra) it was the duty
of the State to prove by evidence that the convict cannot be
reformed or rehabilitated. That information not having been
furnished by the State at the relevant time, the information now
furnished by the State becomes all the more relevant. The standard
set by the ‘rarest of rare’ test in Bachan Singh (supra) is a high
standard. The conduct of the convict in prison cannot be lost sight of.
The fact that the prisoner has displayed good behaviour in prison
certainly goes on to show that he is not beyond reform.
16.
In the matter of probability and possibility of reform of a
17
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