Gauhati High Court Commutes Death Sentence to Life in Nandita Saikia Murder Case

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to Rintu Sarmah in the 2021 murder case of college student Nandita Saikia, commuting it to imprisonment for life.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury delivered the verdict, granting Sarmah relief from capital punishment and directing that he serve life imprisonment.

The case stemmed from the killing of Nandita Saikia, a student of Moridhal College, who was attacked on August 21, 2021. According to the prosecution, Sarmah, a Grade-IV employee of the same college, assaulted her with a machete (dao) after she allegedly rejected his marriage proposal. The attack took place while she was returning home with her father and a friend.

Nandita sustained critical injuries and was first treated locally before being shifted to a hospital in Dibrugarh, where she succumbed to her injuries five days later.

The Dhemaji District and Sessions Court had earlier convicted Sarmah and sentenced him to death, describing the crime as heinous. Sarmah subsequently challenged the sentence before the Gauhati High Court, which upheld the conviction while commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment.

Also Read: Dhemaji Court Sentences Rintu Sarma to Death in Nandita SMurder Case.