Life Imprisonment Is Rule While Death Sentence Is Exception: Rajasthan HC While Commuting Death Penalty Of Man For Rape & Murder Of 4-Yr-Old

The Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur Bench has set aside the death sentence of a man who was convicted of rape and murder of four-year-old girl and has commuted it to the life imprisonment. The Court said that the case did not fall within the ambit of rarest of rare case. 

A death sentence was awarded to the aforesaid man by a Special Judge, POCSO Court for the offences under Sections 363, 302, and 201 of IPC (Indian Penal Code) and Section 5(M)/6 of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, in alternate Section 376(AB) of IPC and Section 84 of Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (hereinafter referred to as the JJ Act).

A Division Bench comprising Justice Pankaj Bhandari and Justice Bhuwan Goyal held, “Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of the present case and in the light of the law laid down by the Apex court, in our view, this case does not fall within the category of ‘rarest of rare case’ and therefore, we commute the death penalty to that of life imprisonment, which shall extend to the full natural life of the appellant but subject to any remission or commutation at the instance of the government for good and sufficient reasons.”

The Bench relied upon the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab (1980) 2 SCC 684 wherein it was held that life imprisonment is the Rule and Death Sentence is an exception.

Advocate Mahendra Kumar appeared for the accused, Addl. G.A. Javed Choudhary appeared for the State, and Advocate Fahad Hasan appeared for the complainant.

Brief Facts -

A missing person report was filed by the father of the missing girl, a child aged about four and a half years, to the effect that the child went missing from Aguna Mohalla, Azad Chauk and the dead body of the missing child was recovered from a pond. It was found that she was raped and drowned in the pond. The Police sprang into action and on the basis of informer’s feedback, arrested the accused from the village. From the report of the DNA, it was revealed that in vaginal & anal swab of the deceased as also in the skirt of the deceased, human semen was detected.

The Police after due investigation filed charge-sheet against the accused and he was examined under Section 313 of the Cr.PC. He denied each and every fact, but no evidence was produced in defence. The Trial Court after hearing the parties convicted the accused and awarded death penalty to him. For confirmation of Death Sentence, Death Reference was moved before the High Court and aggrieved by the judgment of conviction and sentence, accused preferred a separate appeal.

The High Court after hearing the arguments of the counsel for parties observed, “This Court is of the considered view that all incriminating circumstances have been proved against the accused by cogent and reliable evidence and all these cumulatively form a complete chain of circumstances unerringly pointing towards the guilt of the accused and nothing else which are compatible with any other hypothesis except the one of the guilt of the accused.”

The Court further noted that the prosecution was successful in bringing home guilt of the accused and that the Trial Court rightly convicted him.

“… we do not find any illegality in the impugned judgment of conviction and therefore, the same deserves to be upheld. … when we draw a balance-sheet about the aggravating circumstances as against all the mitigating circumstances of this case, we find that the offence has been committed with a young girl aged about four and a half years. The victim was brutally raped and thereafter drowned to death.”, said the Court.

The Court said that all incriminating circumstances have been proved against the accused. 

“Consequently, while upholding the conviction of the accused appellant for offences under Sections 363, 302, 201 of IPC, Section 5(M)/6 of POCSO Act, in alternate Section 376(AB) of IPC and Section 84 of JJ Act, 2015, we set aside the death sentence awarded to the appellant by the trial Court vide impugned order of sentence dated 10.02.2022. Death Reference No.1/2022 sent by the trial Court stands declined and the appeal filed by the accused appellant i.e. D.B. Criminal Appeal No.48/2022 is partly allowed. The death penalty awarded for offence under Section 302 IPC and for offence under the POCSO Act is commuted to life imprisonment, which shall extend to the full natural life of the accused but subject to any remission or commutation at the instance of the government for good and sufficient reasons”, held the Court.

Accordingly, the High Court awarded life imprisonment to the accused.

Cause Title- State of Rajasthan v. Suresh Kumar (Neutral Citation: 2023:RJ-JP:14464-DB)

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