The judge who sentenced a British woman to death for the murder of her husband claimed she deserved the harsh punishment because she abused her mother-in-law during her trial, can reveal.
Ramandeep Kaur Mann, 38, from Derby, was found guilty of murdering her husband Sukhjit Singh, 34, while they were on holiday at his mother’s house in India in September 2016 after feeding him a biryani laced with sedatives.
Mann, a mother-of-two, was given the capital punishment earlier this month by Judge Pankaj Kumar Srivastava following her trial at Shahjahanpur District Court in Uttar Pradesh, north India.
The death penalty is only awarded in India to cases deemed as the ‘rarest of the rare’ and in his 75-page judgment he bizarrely ruled that Mann’s case fell into this category because she hurled abuse at her mother-in-law Bans Kaur during the hearing.
British mother Ramandeep Kaur Mann (pictured), 38, who was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of her husband, deserved the harsh punishment because she abused her mother-in-law during her trial, according to the judge who condemned her
Sukhjit Singh with his wife, Ramandeep Kaur Mann. She is now pleading for help as she sits in a jail awaiting her execution
Judge Srivastava ruled: ‘During the trial she hurled abuse at her mother-in-law. This is one of the reasons why her case is one of the ‘rarest of the rare,’ as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court of India.
‘She should be given capital punishment because if she is not given strict punishment then every mother would think a thousand times before admitting her daughter in law into her home.’
Referring to Mrs Kaur, 69, the judge said in his ruling: ‘Because of women like you, other women can keep their heads held high and their children are safe.
‘You did not deserve to be treated like this by your daughter-in-law. The pain you have suffered is deeper than the sea.’
Mann exclusively broke her silence from behind bars to , protesting her innocence and begging for a pardon while insisting that she was ‘framed’ by her husband’s family.
Fighting back the tears, Mann told from inside the dilapidated 18th century jail which was built during the British Ra,j that she is in a ‘living hell.’
She cried: ‘It’s horrendous, it’s like being in hell, both this prison and the bigger situation that I find myself in.
Mann with her children and police at the scene of her husband’ murder. He is lying in front of them
Mann, 38, from Derby, was found guilty of murdering her husband Sukhjit Singh, 34, while they were on holiday at his mother’s house in India in September 2016 after feeding him a biryani laced with sedatives
Mann was given the capital punishment earlier this month by Judge Pankaj Kumar Srivastava following her trial at Shahjahanpur District Court in Uttar Pradesh, north India. Pictured: Sukhjit Singh and Ramandeep Kaur Mann
Mann with her lover, Gurpreet Singh. He avoided the death sentence but has been sentenced to life imprisonment
Mann is being housed in Shahjahanpur District Jail (pictured) in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
‘It’s the worst thing that has happened to me. I feel so alone, I haven’t made any friends in here and I just keep myself to myself.
‘The food and the conditions are really awful. I don’t speak to anyone, and I don’t want to do anything. I just spend the whole day sitting around crying.’
Wearing a light blue tunic with a pink scarf over her head and with greasy hair tied back, Mann looked dishevelled as she broke down and relived her ordeal.
She sobbed: ‘I have suffered a miscarriage of justice. I haven’t done anything wrong. I was framed and now I’m rotting in this jail.
‘There’s nobody helping me, I’m all alone here. I can’t begin to tell you how horrendous this whole thing is. I’m not good at all. Please, somebody help me.’
Her lawyers have already appealed the death sentence, maintaining that the judge’s remarks that she should be hanged for heated comments made to her mother-in-law is ‘ridiculous.’
Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Mann’s lawyer told : ‘My client did get quite worked up during the trial, especially when she saw her mother-in-law and did abuse her.
‘That’s a fact. She didn’t behave in the best way. But that doesn’t mean she should get the death penalty.
‘It’s a ridiculous, laughable ruling by the judge. If we hanged every woman in India for abusing her mother-in-law, then there wouldn’t be many of them left.
Singh with his wife in the UK. The couple were on holiday in India when Singh was murdered
Mann is seen with Gurpreet after the pair had been arrested by police following Singh’s murder
Gurpreet Singh (pictured), who was a childhood friend of Sukhjeet, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of £260,000
Jail Superintendent Mijaji Lal. He told : ‘We are doing our best to look after her because we understand that things must be very difficult for Mann’
Mann mixed sleeping pills into a biryani she made for Mr Singh and their two children, which was his favourite dish
Lawyers for Mann have filed an appeal against her death sentence, claiming that the judge incorrectly applied the law when he handed it down to her
Mann with her husband their son. He started wearing a turban and having a beard around two years before his killing
‘You could probably say the same for most countries around the world. Daughter-in-laws are always abusing their mother-in-laws.’
He added: ‘We are confident that this sentence will be overturned because the judge’s ruling is seriously flawed.’
Judge Srivastava also ruled that Mann deserved a death sentence because the crime was pre-planned, she did not show any remorse and he did not believe she could be rehabilitated.
He stated: ‘Ramandeep is from a very good family, God has given her everything but despite this she committed the crime like a professional criminal.
‘We do not see any scope of rehabilitation for her.
‘The accused has been living a privileged life. She has British nationality.
‘Whenever she appeared in court it never seemed that she was ashamed or feeling any remorse or pain.’