Kurukshetra: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted the death sentences of four men convicted of murdering Dr Vanita Arora during a robbery at her home in Kurukshetra, imposing instead a minimum of 30 years' imprisonment without remission for each of them.

Source: Live Law

A division bench of Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj and Justice Ravinder Malik held that the case did not fall in the 'rarest of rare' category and that the possibility of the convicts' reformation could not be ruled out. The four convicts — Sunil Kumar, Manish Kumar, Vikramjeet alias Bitt and Vikram alias Vicky — are aged between 26 and 31, a factor the court weighed along with their socio-economic backgrounds and conduct in prison.

Fifth accused acquitted

The bench acquitted Poonam, a former domestic help of the family who had also been sentenced to death by the trial court, giving her the benefit of doubt and holding that she could not be convicted merely because she was acquainted with one of the main accused. With her acquittal, fewer than five persons stood convicted, so the court converted the dacoity convictions into convictions for robbery.

Source: Medical Dialogues

The 2023 crime and the trial

The crime took place on the night of January 9, 2023, at the family's home in Thanesar, Kurukshetra, where Dr Atul Arora runs a hospital on the ground floor and lives on the upper floor. According to the prosecution, the intruders held a gun to Dr Arora's head, beat him and demanded cash and jewellery, and his wife Vanita Arora was killed during the robbery. Four of the accused were arrested the next day after an exchange of fire with police, and jewellery was recovered on their disclosure statements.

In December 2025, the Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track Special Court), Kurukshetra convicted all five accused and sentenced each of them to death. The High Court observed that a test identification parade is only corroborative evidence, and that the primary evidence is the complainant's identification of the accused in court. The four convicts will now serve at least 30 years in prison without remission.