Jharkhand High Court commutes man’s death penalty in rape and murder case to life term, cites lack of reform assessment

Written by Jagriti Rai

New Delhi | Updated: January 8, 2026 04:18 PM IST

Jharkhand High Court News: While citing the Supreme Court judgement, the bench said that the probability of reformation, rehabilitation and social re integration of the appellant, also can't be ruled out.

Jharkhand High Court News: The Jharkhand High Court recently commuted a trial court’s order of death sentence to a man into life imprisonment in the rape and murder case of a five-year-old girl.

A division bench of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Arun Kumar Rai was hearing a review plea of a convict booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“Even in the backdrop of the fact that accused was involved in three similar nature of cases, and the case related to the gruesome rape and murder of a girl child, the apex court, laying down the law that in absence of any consideration about the probability of reformation, rehabilitation and social reintegration of the appellant into the society, the death sentence awarded upon, could not be maintained, commuted the death sentence of the accused,” the court observed. Referring to the top court’s Sachin Kumar Singhraha vs. State of MP decision, the high court added that the probability of reformation, rehabilitation, and social reintegration of the appellant cannot be ruled out.

Jharkhand High Court News: Jharkhand High Court was hearing a plea filed convict and commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment.

Case

According to the prosecution, the case dates back to 2022, when the man approached the victim. Later, the child’s body was discovered at a secluded place, and the medical examination confirmed the child had been sexually assaulted and then strangulated. In 2023, the police submitted the chargesheet, and the trial court took formal cognisance of the offences under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC and Section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act. While taking into consideration the “last seen” testimony and medical experts who detailed the brutal nature of the injuries, the trial court ordered the death penalty for the convict. Following this, the convict approached the high court against his conviction.

Decision

Drawing on the landmark judgments in Rajendra Pralhadrao Wasnik vs. State of Maharashtra the court held that though the extreme penalty of death was not warranted in the facts of this case, the accused does not deserve any major leniency in the matter of remission of the sentence, awarding the capital punishment of death to the petitioner for the offence under Section 302 of the IPC, is hereby, commuted to the life sentence. Commuting the death penalty to a life sentence, the court said that the alternative option shall serve the interest of justice. The court added that the sentence passed against the petitioner for the offence under Section 6 of the POCSO Act shall also run concurrently.

“We also hereby affirm his sentence for the offence under Section 6 of the Act,” the court observed. “Accordingly, the trial court judgment of conviction stands affirmed, with the modification in the sentence of the convict,” the court ruled. The bench also ordered the compensation to the parents of the victim under the ‘victim compensation scheme’.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/legal-news/jharkhand-high-court-overturns-death-sentence-in-minors-rape-and-murder-case-cites-lack-of-reform-assessment-10461700/

Punjab - Death sentence commuted after 19 years: Why ‘illegal solitary confinement’ saved 2 convicts from gallows

A bench of Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Rohit Kapoor allowed the appeal filed by the two convicts and commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment.

Written by Ashish Shaji

New Delhi | Updated: January 7, 2026 06:23 PM IST

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has commuted to life imprisonment the death penalty of two men convicted for kidnapping and murdering a minor boy for ransom in 2005 on the grounds of their illegal solitary confinement and the state’s delay in deciding mercy petitions. A bench of Justices Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Rohit Kapoor allowed the appeal filed by the two convicts and commuted their death sentence to life imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives without any commutation or premature release.

Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor

“The death sentence awarded to the appellants shall be commuted and shall be substituted with a sentence of imprisonment for life, for the remainder of their natural lives, and they shall not be entitled to any commutation or premature release,” the court ordered. Interestingly, the bench started its verdict quoting American journalist and writer Rick Bragg as saying, “Every life deserves a certain amount of dignity, no matter how poor or damaged the shell that carries it.” 

The order also quoted Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith as saying, “Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent”.

Scottish Economist and Philosopher Adam Smith (Source: Wiki)

Case

The two men were arrested for the 2005 kidnapping and murder of a sixteen year old boy from Hoshiarpur. The convicts had demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh. The trial court awarded them the death penalty in 2006 which was later confirmed by the high court. In 2008, the Supreme Court also upheld the death sentence awarded to the two convicts. The review petitions filed before the Supreme Court were dismissed. They moved mercy petitions in 2012, however, it was rejected by the governor of Punjab in 2015.

Both the convicts approached the high court after rejection of their mercy petitions for commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment and for quashing the death warrants. The single judge dismissed their pleas. Subsequently, the convicts filed individual appeals before the division bench.

Findings

The court observed that the convicts were subjected to illegal solitary confinement from 2006 to 2009, prior to the exhaustion of their judicial remedies. “It stands duly established that the appellants, were illegally kept under solitary confinement for the afore-mentioned period in violation of the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sunil Batra’s case, before the exhaustion of their judicial remedies,” the court noted. On the issue of delay, the court found that a total period of more than four years of unexplained and unreasonable delay in processing the mercy petitions was attributable to the State authorities. 

It observed that the convicts were neither promptly informed of their right to file mercy petitions nor provided legal aid, contrary to mandatory guidelines. “We find that after the rejection of the review petitions of the appellants by the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 20.04.2011, they were not informed about the right to file mercy petitions, nor any legal aid was provided, in violation of the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the directions in the case of Shatrugan Chauhans’ case (supra), leading to a delay of more than one year and four months in filing of the mercy petitions,” the order read. The court held that all these supervening factors resulted in infringement of the rights of the convicts under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/legal-news/death-sentence-commuted-after-19-years-why-illegal-solitary-confinement-saved-2-convicts-from-gallows-10460076/

Odisha - Man gets death penalty in minor’s rape, murder case

7 Jan 2026

The Hans India

Bhubaneswar: A Special POCSO court in Bargarh district on Tuesday sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of the rape and murder of a six-year-old minor girl in Paikmal area of the district in November 2024.“On November 15, 2024, at around 9 am, the six-year-old girl and her grandfather were at their house when the accused, identified as Prashanta Bag (21), called the victim to go fishing. Bag, along with two other minors, took the girl to a nearby water body,” said Dyutish Acharya, special Public Prosecutor in-charge. Acharya said after a few minutes, Bag left the two other minors at the water body and took the girl alone into the jungle, where he sexually assaulted her. Fearing that she might reveal the incident to her family, he brutally bludgeoned her to death. The accused also strangled the victim with a belt.

When the victim’s grandfather, who had gone to his paddy field for harvesting, returned after a few hours, he found Bag at his house with blood on his cheek. Suspecting foul play, he asked Bag the whereabouts of his granddaughter. Bag gave evasive answers, claiming he had sent her away long ago and did not know where she was. The grandfather and other villagers began searching for the victim and eventually found the girl’s body lying nude in a pool of blood in the nearby jungle, with severe head injuries. They also discovered that her neck had been tied with a belt. The villagers and family members caught Bag and handed him over to the police. Based on the grandfather’s complaint, Paikmal police registered a case and arrested Bag on November 15, 2024. 

After examining the statements of 37 prosecution witnesses, 55 documents, and 27 material objects, the court pronounced its judgment on Tuesday. The family of the deceased was awarded a compensation of Rs 15 lakh under the victim compensation scheme. Northern Range IG Himanshu Kumar Lal said that the judgment of the case will certainly become a deterrent against the heinous crimes against women and girls.

Source: https://www.thehansindia.com/news/national/man-gets-death-penalty-in-minors-rape-murder-case-1037169#

Tamil Nadu - Death sentence to labourer for sexually assaulting, impregnating 15-year-old daughter

Published - January 05, 2026 07:25 pm IST - TIRUNELVELI

The Hindu Bureau

The special court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) cases has awarded the death sentence to a 43-year-old labourer, who sexually assaulted and impregnated his 15-year-old daughter.

According to prosecution, a tree-cutter from a village near Valliyoor lived with his second wife and two daughters, aged 15 and 12, after his first wife left him several years ago. Since the second wife was also a labourer, the eldest daughter stopped going to school to cook food for the family.

When the girl was alone in the house, the tree-cutter sexually assaulted his daughter on multiple occasions and threatened to kill her if she told her mother about it. When the girl developed health issues in February last, her mother took her to the hospital where the doctors found that she was pregnant. Based on a complaint from the girl’s mother, Valliyoor All Women Police registered a case against the tree-cutter and arrested him. Investigators also collected DNA samples, which proved categorically the charges against the tree-cutter.

POCSO Court Judge K. Suresh Kumar, who awarded the death sentence to a man from a village near Nanguneri in a similar case on December 24, 2025, gave capital punishment to the tree-cutter on Monday. Special Public Prosecutor P. Usha said the court also directed the Tamil Nadu Government to pay a compensation of ₹10 lakh to the victim.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/death-sentence-to-labourer-for-sexually-assaulting-impregnating-15-year-old-daughter/article70473717.ece

Chandigarh - ‘Blind Love for Raja Betas’: HC Tears Into Patriarchy While Jailing Child Rape-Murder Convict for 30 Years

Updated 26 December 2025 at 17:13 IST

The Punjab and Haryana High Court sentenced a man to 30 years in prison for raping and killing a five-year-old girl, while sharply criticising India’s ‘Raja Beta’ culture and blind parental protection rooted in patriarchy.

Shruti Sneha | India News

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has changed the death sentence of a man sentenced for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in 2018 to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment, while making pertinent observations on what it described as the deeply rooted “Raja Beta” mindset in parts of Indian society. The appeal was being heard by a division bench consisting of Justices Anoop Chitkara and Sukhvinder Kaur. The appeal was submitted by a mother-son pair who had been found guilty of the violent crime. The court upheld the accused's conviction but reduced the death penalty to a fixed 30-year prison sentence and levied a fine of ₹30 lakh to compensate the child's relatives.

Punjab and Haryana High Court - File photo

Court’s Sharp Observations on Social Mindset

The High Court noted in its ruling that boys are frequently seen as "precious Raja Betas" in many families, especially in northern India, regardless of how defective or even illegal their behavior may be. Such blind parental support, particularly by women, is "deeply embedded in the region's patriarchal mindset and culture," the court observed. The bench noted that even after learning of her son's heinous conduct, the mother decided to protect him instead of calling the police or pursuing justice for the victim. Although not criminally culpable in this instance, the court characterized this inclination as socially unacceptable.

The Crime: What Happened in 2018

The incident occurred on May 31, 2018. The accused had been employed by the victim's father, a small-time tent installer, for almost five or six years. The prosecution claims that after bringing the five-year-old child to his home, the accused sexually assaulted her then fatally stabbed her with a kitchen knife. He then hid her body inside a large kitchen container used by his mother for storage, after emptying it. The accused's mother was away at work at the time of the crime. The child's family was later informed by the villagers that they had seen the youngster accompanying the accused as he led her to his residence. The accused was observed strolling with the youngster while holding her hand, according to CCTV footage from a local school. When the accused's mother was questioned by the family and locals at his home, she refused to let them in and denied that her son or the child was there. A container was found in the compound by the victim's relative. The child's body was discovered inside when it was opened.

Charges and Trial Court Verdict

The accused was booked under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code, which include Sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 366 and 363 (kidnapping), and 201 (causing missing of evidence), along with Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. In addition, his mother was accused of aiding in the crime's concealment under IPC Sections 120-B, 366, 363, and 201. The trial court found both guilty on January 24, 2020. His mother received a sentence of seven years of hard labor, while the accused was given the death penalty. Later, both appealed the decision to the High Court.

High Court Decision on the Mother’s Role

The mother was finally cleared of all charges, despite the High Court's harsh criticism of her behavior. According to the bench, she acted out of "orthodox conditioning" and an innate desire to keep her son safe. Although her actions were ethically and socially repugnant, the court determined that they did not constitute criminal conspiracy or active involvement in the crime. The bench stated, "Her only fault was trying to protect her Raja Beta," noting that although such behavior was wrong, it could not result in criminal punishment in this particular instance.

Why Death Penalty Was Reduced

Calling the crime gruesome, the court noted that the child had “absolute trust” in the accused and could not have imagined the “evil of a devil.” In order to protect other women and children, the judges emphasized that the convict posed a major threat to society and needed to stay behind bars. Nonetheless, the bench noted that the murder was not planned and was carried out in a haste to obliterate any proof of rape. Based on this, the court decided that it would not be acceptable to take the convict's life through judicial execution. Rather, it chose a "humane mix" of punishment, reducing the death penalty to 30 years in jail without the possibility of early release. According to the court, incapacitating the offender for an extended period of time will better serve the interests of justice and public safety.

Principles of Sentencing Explained

Additionally, the High Court established more general guidelines for punishment, stating that a sentence must be steady and balanced, akin to a table with equally strong legs. The bench states that when determining a sentence, judges must take into account four important factors; the crime; the victim; the criminal and his family; and society and the state. The accused's conviction was affirmed by the High Court, which also lowered his death sentence to 30 years in jail, fined the victim's family ₹30 lakh, and cleared his mother of all charges. However, the court strongly condemned the mindset and acts that led to the crime.

Source: https://www.republicworld.com/india/blind-love-for-raja-betas-hc-tears-into-patriarchy-while-jailing-child-rape-murder-convict-for-30-years

Maharashtra - Man sentenced to death for assaulting woman, murdering her child

Summary

A lower court in Maharashtra, India, has sentenced a man to death for brutally killing a three-year-old child while assaulting the child’s mother. The incident took place on June 19, 2017, in Kanchanpur village, Mulchera taluka, Gadchiroli District, when the victim’s husband was away for work. 

The court found Sanju Vishwanath Sarkar guilty of choking the child to death by forcefully pressing his mouth during the attack on the woman. The case stemmed from this violent assault that occurred more than eight years ago.

Source: https://www.uniindia.com/man-sentenced-to-death-for-assaulting-woman-murdering-her-child/west/news/3684634.html

Gujarat - Husband Gets Death Sentence For Brutal 2021 Murder In Vapi

A sessions court in Vapi held the 2021 killing of a woman by her husband to be exceptionally brutal, awarding the death penalty.

Published : December 23, 2025 at 10:05 PM IST

Vapi (Gujarat): A sessions court in Vapi has sentenced a man to death for the murder of his wife, a case that dates back to September 2021 and had sent shockwaves through the Dungra Dungri area of the town. The Third Additional Sessions Court held Laxmikant alias Bhola Muchkundlal Vishwakarma guilty of killing his wife, Sadhnadevi Vishwakarma (29), inside their rented room. The court described the crime as falling in the “rarest of the rare” category. According to the prosecution, the couple’s marriage was strained, with frequent arguments triggered by the accused’s suspicion of his wife. What began as routine domestic discord eventually turned violent.

Representational Image (Getty Images)

In the early hours of September 16, 2021, between 1 and 2 am, Vishwakarma attacked his wife with a large knife. He slit her throat and severed her head inside the room they were staying in. Investigators told the court that the accused then carried the severed head to a drain near the Fish Market on the main road in the Dungra Dungri area, allegedly to prevent identification, and fled with the weapon. The incident came to light after the room owner, Chandrakesh Khushal Yadav, and his wife were woken by unusual sounds. When they stepped out, they saw the accused walking towards the drain, holding a blood-soaked head in one hand and a knife in the other. The couple later informed the police.

Vapi police reached the spot shortly after and recovered the head from the drain, while the woman’s headless body was found inside the rented room. The accused was arrested within hours. During the trial, the prosecution relied on eyewitness accounts, material evidence and the nature of the crime itself. Public prosecutor Rakesh Champaneria argued that the brutality of the act left little room for leniency. After hearing the arguments, Additional Sessions Judge Pushpa Saini convicted the accused under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and awarded the death sentence. The court also imposed a fine of ₹5,000, with a default sentence of two years’ simple imprisonment. The accused was further convicted under Section 201 of the IPC for attempting to destroy evidence. For this, he was sentenced to five ears’ imprisonment and fined ₹1,000. In case of default, he will undergo six months’ simple imprisonment.

Source: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/husband-gets-death-sentence-for-brutal-2021-murder-in-vapi-gujarat-enn25122306660