The order came in a matter in which it stayed the death sentence of a man lodged in Bihar’s Buxar jail. Reiterating that reformation is a foundational goal of criminal punishment, the Supreme Court has issued nation-wide directions to be followed in cases involving potential death sentences, including consideration of mitigating circumstances at trial court-level itself. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi said in its April 27 order said that “the report pertaining to aggravating and mitigating circumstances shall, as a matter of course, be called for by the trial court itself once the accused is convicted, prior to the determination of sentence”. It said “in the event such a report has not been called for or placed on record before the trial court, the HC shall mandatorily call for same at the stage of admission of the death reference”.…