West Bengal - Bengal man who was saved from suicide attempt gets death penalty for murdering family

By HT News Desk

Published on: Dec 24, 2024

A West Bengal court on Monday sentenced a 42-year-old private tutor to death for murdering his father, mother and sister in 2021. Ironically, the man, identified as Pramathes Ghosal, a resident of Hooghly's Dhaniakhali, had tried to die by suicide by slashing his wrists at the time of the crime but was rescued. The Chinsurah trial judge termed the crime as "rarest of rare" and awarded him the death penalty.

The convict was known to be soft-spoken and mild-mannered, reported TOI, adding that he killed his father Ashim, mother Subhra and 38-year-old married sister, Pallavi. Pramathes was the only earning member of the family. The deceased used to live with him. On the day of the crime, a bleeding convict was found by the man's students who came to his house to take tuition. The police were informed by the students. The police took him to hospital. They also found the bodies of the father, mother and sister. They were first hit by a blunt object and later slashed. Pramathes survived the suicide attempt and was arrested after he recovered.

The police said the convict told them he committed the crime because he was tired with their demands for money. He never had a steady job and after the Covid-induced lockdowns, his income dwindled. Locals, however, said he earned enough to support his family financially. The judge rejected his innocence plea. The sentence will be referred to the Calcutta high court for confirmation.

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Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bengal-man-who-was-saved-from-suicide-attempt-gets-death-penalty-for-murdering-family-101735039084888.html

Uttar Pradesh - Father-son duo sentenced to death for killing kin

Sessions Judge (fast-track court) Ravi Kumar Diwakar awarded capital punishment to Raghuveer Singh and his son Monu alias Tejpal Singh for brutally killing Raghuveer's brother Charan Singh on November 20, 2014, at Baheri over a land dispute.

Last Updated : 24 December 2024, 18:07 IST

Bareilly (UP): A Bareilly court on Tuesday awarded death sentence to a father-son duo in a 10-year-old murder case, besides slapping a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each of them. Sessions Judge (fast-track court) Ravi Kumar Diwakar awarded capital punishment to Raghuveer Singh and his son Monu alias Tejpal Singh for brutally killing Raghuveer's brother Charan Singh on November 20, 2014, at Baheri over a land dispute.

"They will be hanged by the neck till they are dead," the judge said in his order. "First Monu shot Charan on his chest then his father Raghuveer hacked him. The post-mortem report of the victim showed brutality," Digambar Singh, assistant government counsel, said. The court separately awarded a five-year sentence to Monu in an Arms Act case along with a fine of Rs 10,000. Evoking values enshrined in the Ramayana while pronouncing the verdict, Justice Diwakar said, "After Lord Ram left, (his brother) Bharat refused to take the throne. This shows the love of a brother. But you (Raghuveer) have killed him. It is the duty of every citizen to follow the path of justice, truth and dignity. When a person violates dignity, he should be handed severe punishment."

"The ideal of justice and truth in the Indian society is found in texts like Ramayana. Following Lord Ram's orders, Bharat placed his wooden sandals on the throne as a symbol. This shows how much a brother respects the dignity and rights of another brother. "But in today's time, if a man takes the life of his brother following a dispute over property, it is the supreme duty of the court to act on such matter. Ramayana teaches us that maintaining the dignity of family and society is the duty of every citizen," he added.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/uttar-pradesh/father-son-duo-sentenced-to-death-for-killing-kin-in-uttar-pradesh-3331189

Hyderabad Man Gets Death Sentence For Killing Pregnant Ex-Wife & Two Others

By ETV Bharat English Team

Published : December 21, 2024 at 1:21 PM IST

One Ragula Sai has been awarded death sentence by Nampally court for killing his ex-wife, her husband, and two children including an unborn baby.

Hyderabad Man Awarded Death Sentence For Killing Pregnant Ex-Wife & Two Others (ETV Bharat)

Hyderabad: The Nampally Criminal Court here on Friday awarded death sentence to a man, Ragula Sai, on charges of killing his ex-wife, her husband, and two children including an unborn baby, in 2022. Another accused identified as Rahul, who was part of the conspiracy and helped Ragula in committing the crime, was handed life imprisonment and imposed fine of Rs 1000 by the court. As per reports, victim Aarti divorced Ragula Sai, the convict, and started staying with Ragula’s friend Nagaraju in 2022. When Ragula discovered their relationship, he conspired to kill them and eventually took the help of Rahul. Ragula and Rahul poured petrol on Nagaraju, their one-year-old son, and Aarti who was eight months pregnant then, and set all of them on fire. All three died during treatment, and Aarti delivered a dead male child before succumbing to the burn injuries. On the basis of a complaint lodged by Aarti’s mother, Narayanguda police launched an investigation and immediately arrested Ragula Sai and Rahul. Almost after two years of extensive probe and legal proceedings, the Nampally court pronounced the verdict in the sensational case.

Judge Vinod Kumar of the Nampally Criminal Court took this case as a priority and pronounced death sentence for Ragula Sai and handed life imprisonment to his friend Rahul. The death penalty in this murder case is said to be the first under Hyderabad police in the past two decades.

Source: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!state/hyderabad-man-awarded-death-sentence-by-nampally-court-for-killing-pregnant-ex-wife-two-others-including-unborn-child-enn24122101740

Uttar Pradesh - Man sentenced to death for rape-murder of 4-year-old in Gonda

21 December, 2024

A court here on Saturday awarded death sentence to a man convicted of rape and murder a four-year-old girl, a senior police officer said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vineet Jaiswal told PTI here that during the trial, Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Narayan Mani Tripathi, after hearing evidence available on the file and the arguments of the advocates, convicted the accused Vishwanath Vanskar. The judge sentenced him to death on Saturday, terming the incident as heinous. The four-year-old girl was raped and murdered in a garden near Katra railway station under Nawabganj police station area of the district on the intervening night of June 21 and 22 June this year. Her body was found in a mutilated condition the next morning, he said.

A murder case was lodged against unknown persons initially and in view of the seriousness of the incident, five teams were formed. All teams collected electronic and manual evidence and arrested Vishwanath Vanshkar, a resident of Datia, Madhya Pradesh within 24 hours of the incident and sent him to jail after completing the legal process, the SP said. The then investigating officer, Inspector-in-charge Manoj Kumar Rai completed the investigation within ten days and sent the chargesheet to the court. Sections of rape in the Indian Penal Code and the relevant provisions of the The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was levelled against him, the officer said.

After completion of the hearing, the court pronounced the sentence on Saturday, he said. PTI COR CDN SKY SKY

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

Source: https://theprint.in/india/man-sentenced-to-death-for-rape-murder-of-4-year-old-in-ups-gonda/2414669/

From Death Row to Life: Supreme Court commutes sentence of man convicted for Sexual assault and murder of 4-year-old boy

Dec 19, 2024

By Apoorva

“The crime committed by the convict was diabolic in character. He enticed the innocent child by tempting him with ice-cream and brutally sodomized and murdered the four-year old. The appellant also mercilessly strangulated the deceased. The post-mortem report clearly indicated that death was due to asphyxia by throttling”. ...Supreme Court: In a criminal appeal filed by the appellant (convict) convicted for the offences of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of a four-year-old child, the three Judge bench of B.R. Gavai, Aravind Kumar and K. V. Viswanathan*, JJ. while maintaining the conviction under Sections 302, 364, 377 of the Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) and Sections 4 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act, 2012 (‘POCSO Act’), set aside the sentence of death for the offence under Section 302 and substitute the same with that of rigorous imprisonment for a period of 25 years without remission. Further, the Court ordered that the sentence imposed for offences under Section 364 IPC (10 years S.I. and Rs. 10,000/- fine) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act (life imprisonment and Rs.10,000/- fine) to run concurrently with the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for a period of 25 years without remission. The convict stood trial for the offences of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of a four-year-old child and was convicted and sentenced to death by the Trial Court. The Gujarat High Court also confirmed the conviction and sentence of death imposed on him for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 364, and 377 of IPC and Sections 4 and 6 of POCSO Act. Aggrieved, the convict filed the present appeal. Perusing the Postmortem report of the minor boy, the Court noted that deceased had a homicidal death and said that the only question that arises is whether there is any evidence against the convict to confirm his conviction for the offences charged. The Court noted that the convict’s medical examination revealed that there were injury marks on his genitals. The Court mentioned that the present case rests on circumstantial evidence.

The Court approached the case at hand, with the five golden principles involved with circumstantial evidence.

Circumstance No. 1: The appellant last seen with the deceased

The Court reiterated that if the accused is last seen with the deceased and particularly in a case of this nature when the time gap between the last seen stage and occurrence of death is so short, the accused must offer a plausible explanation as to how he parted company with the deceased and the explanation offered must be satisfactory. The Court said that Section 106 of the Evidence Act mandates that when any fact is especially within the knowledge of any person, the burden of proving that fact is upon him. Thus, if an accused fails to offer an explanation, he fails to discharge the burden cast upon him under Section 106 and if he fails to offer a reasonable explanation that itself provides an additional link in the chain of circumstances.2

Circumstance No. 2: Found in the vicinity of the scene of crime at about the time of crime:

The Court said that the presence of the convict at the scene of crime in the afternoon in the background of the evidence of last seen of the witnesses, is a clear link in the chain of circumstances which point to the guilt of the convict.

Circumstance No. 3: Injury on the private parts of the accused

The Court noted that the Doctor deposed that there was injury on the genitals of the convict. The certificate also reveals that there were abrasions on the prepuce of the convict. The abrasions in the prepuce of the convict were there even two days after the incident. Considering the overall facts, the Court accepted this circumstance as an additional link in the chain of circumstances.

Circumstance No. 4: Conduct under Section 8 of the Evidence Act

Irrespective of the admissibility of the discovery, and irrespective of the admissibility of the recovery of the clothes of the deceased on the statement of the accused, the Court concluded that the conduct of the convict in leading the investigation team and the panchas and pointing out where the apparel of the deceased was hidden would be admissible. The Court took note of A.N. Venkatesh v. State of Karnataka (2005) 7 SCC 714, wherein it was held that by virtue of Section 8 of the Evidence Act, the conduct of the accused person is relevant, if such conduct influences or is influenced by any fact in issue or relevant fact. The evidence of the circumstance, simpliciter, that the accused pointed out to the police officer, the place where the dead body of the kidnapped boy was found and on their pointing out the body was exhumed, would be admissible as conduct under Section 8 irrespective of the fact whether the statement made by the accused contemporaneously with or antecedent to such conduct falls within the purview of Section 27 or not. Thus, the Court took this as an additional link in the chain of circumstances.

Circumstance No. 5: Matching of Blood Group

The Court found that the matching of blood groups between the convict and the deceased played a significant role in establishing the link between the two. The serological analysis revealed blood of group O on the clothes of the deceased, as well as on the small trouser, anal swab, and perianal swab, which were all connected to the convict, who also had blood group O. The Court was satisfied with the chain of custody of the evidence, confirming its integrity and the reliability of the findings. Even without relying on the discovery under Section 27, the Court found sufficient circumstantial evidence pointing to the guilt of the accused. The blood group match, in this context, was considered as an additional link in the chain of circumstantial evidence, strengthening the prosecution’s case and leading to conviction.

Presumption under the POCSO Act

The Court stated that it is clearly established in evidence that the deceased was subjected to a brutal sexual assault. The injury on the prepuce of the penis of the convict along with the matching of the blood group coupled with other circumstantial evidence clearly constitute foundational facts for raising presumption under Sections 29 and 30 of the POCSO Act. The Court mentioned that the manner in which the convict enticed the deceased child under the pretext of buying ice-cream despite being dissuaded by the aunt and without the consent of the lawful guardians also makes out an offence under Section 364 of IPC. The aggravated penetrative sexual assault clearly establishes offence under Section 377 of IPC and Sections 4 and 6 of the 29 POCSO Act.

The convict has not rebutted the presumption by adducing proof to the contrary. The Court was satisfied that the circumstances enumerated hereinabove are fully established; that the circumstances so established are consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the convict and are not explainable by any other hypothesis; that the circumstances are conclusive in nature and further that the chain of circumstance is so complete as to point to the conclusion that the convict is guilty of the offences charged. Thus, the Court upheld the conviction as imposed by the Trial Court and confirmed by the High Court. The Court noted that the Trial Court has imposed the sentence of death, and the High Court has confirmed the same. After drawing up the balance sheet of the aggravating and mitigating circumstances to decide whether the case falls in the category of rarest of rare case, the Court examined whether the sentence of life imprisonment is foreclosed and the possibility of reformation is completely ruled out.

The Court said that “the crime committed by the convict was diabolic in character. He enticed the innocent child by tempting him with ice-cream and brutally sodomized and murdered the four-year old. The appellant also mercilessly strangulated the deceased. The post-mortem report clearly indicated that death was due to asphyxia by throttling”. On the mitigating side, the Court stated that the convict was 24 years of age when the incident happened; he had no criminal antecedents; he hails from a low socio-economic household. Further, he is diagnosed with moderate intensity psychotic features and intellectual disability and that he had in his early childhood contacted Tuberculosis Meningitis. Further, noting the conduct and behaviour of the convict in prison, the Court held that the present is not a case where it can be said that the possibility of reformation is completely ruled out. The option of life imprisonment is also not foreclosed.

The case does not fall in the category of rarest of rare case. Even though the case of the convict falls short of the rarest of rare category, considering the nature of the crime, the Court viewed that a sentence of life imprisonment which normally works out for 14 years would be grossly disproportionate and inadequate. Having regard to the nature of the offence, a sentence of imprisonment for a prescribed period without remission would alone be proportionate to the crime and also not jeopardize the public confidence in the efficacy of the legal system. Relying on Nawas Alias Mulanavas v State of Kerala (2024) SCC OnLine SC 315, the Court held that a sentence of imprisonment for a period of 25 years without remission would be ‘a just dessert’....

Source: https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2024/12/19/supreme-court-commutes-death-sentence-seual-assault-murder-4-year-old/

Chhattisgarh High Court commutes death sentence for man convicted of killing wife, 3 children

By Partha Behera/ TNN/ Dec 18, 2024 

Case Summary — Umend Kenwat

• Accused: Umend Kenwat, 34‑year‑old man

• Original Conviction: He was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Bilaspur for the murder of his wife and three young children — Sukrita Kewat (32), daughters Khushi (5) and Lisa (3), and son Pawan (18 months). 

• Crime Details: On January 1, 2024, Kenwat strangled his wife and children with a rope, allegedly driven by suspicion regarding his wife’s character. After the killings, he attempted suicide by hanging himself but survived and then reported the incident to the police. 

Trial Court Sentence

• The trial court sentenced him to death by hanging under four counts of Section 302 IPC (murder), plus a fine of ₹10,000. This death sentence was sent to the High Court for confirmation. 

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High Court Decision

The Chhattisgarh High Court (Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad) overturned the death sentence and commuted it to life imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life.

Reasoning:

• The court held that the case did not meet the “rarest of rare” standard required for imposing capital punishment, even though the crime was shocking.
• It noted mitigating factors including the accused’s young age, the circumstances of the crime being based on suspicion rather than clear intent beyond doubt, and that the evidence was entirely circumstantial.
• The court observed that while the act was grievous, life imprisonment was sufficient to meet the ends of justice. 

Outcome

• Death sentence → Commuted to life imprisonment for natural life.

• The High Court upheld the conviction under IPC Section 302 but replaced the capital punishment with life imprisonment and maintained the fine.

• The court also directed that a copy of its judgment be provided to relevant authorities and informed Kenwat of his right to appeal to the Supreme Court. 

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/chhattisgarh-hc-commutes-death-sentence-for-man-convicted-of-killing-wife-3-children/articleshow/116423041.cms

Gujrat - Supreme Court Sets Aside Death Penalty In Boy's Sexual Assault, Murder Case

The bench said the lack of explanation by the appellant was to say the least "baffling".

Dec 18, 2024

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside the death sentence imposed on a convict in a sexual assault and murder case of a four-year-old minor boy in 2016, and substituted it with a 25-year jail term without remission. Holding the crime was diabolical, a bench comprising Justices B R Gavai, Aravind Kumar and K V Viswanathan, took note of the mitigating circumstances and observed it was not a case where the possibility of reformation was completely ruled out.

The case does not fall in the rarest of rare category, the bench said.

"Having regard to the nature of the offence, a sentence of imprisonment for a prescribed period without remission would alone be proportionate to the crime and also not jeopardise the public confidence in the efficacy of the legal system," it said, "a sentence of imprisonment for a period of 25 years without remission would be a just dessert". The apex court delivered its judgement on an appeal filed by convict Sambhubhai Raisangbhai Padhiyar challenging the Gujarat High Court's April 2019 verdict. The high court had confirmed the conviction and death sentence imposed on him by a trial court for the offences punishable under various sections of the IPC, including murder besides the Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. According to the prosecution, Padhiyar kidnapped the four-year-old boy, sexual assaulted and murdered him in April, 2016, in Gujarat's Bharuch district.

"Without doubt, the crime committed by the appellant was diabolic in character. He enticed the innocent child by tempting him with ice-cream and brutally sodomised and murdered the four-year old. The appellant also mercilessly strangulated the deceased," the top court said. The mitigation investigation report filed before the apex court showed the appellant was 24-years of age at the time of incident, no criminal antecedents and hailed from a low socio-economic household. The bench said the report from the superintendent of Vadodara Jail indicated the appellant's behaviour in prison was completely normal and his conduct was good. It further said the report from a mental health hospital indicated the appellant had no psychiatric problem at present.

"Considering the overall facts and circumstances, we hold that the present is not a case where it can be said that the possibility of reformation is completely ruled out. The option of life imprisonment is also not foreclosed," the bench said. It said though the case of the appellant fell short of the rarest of rare category, considering the nature of the crime, the court "strongly" felt a sentence of life imprisonment -- normally working out for 14 years -- would be grossly disproportionate and inadequate. The top court's verdict noted the prosecution's case alleging the child was playing near his house when the accused took him on the pretext of getting him ice-cream, and later his mortal remains were found near bushes. "The deceased, aged between three-and-a-half and four years, was a small child, just out of toddlerhood and at the preschool stage. This is very significant because when the appellant has from the neighbourhood of the house of the deceased taken the deceased one would expect that the small child would be brought back and dropped at the house," it said.

It also came on record that the convict offered no explanation about what had happened after he spent time with the child and it wasn't the man's case that he handed over the child to someone else or dropped the boy home. The bench said the lack of explanation by the appellant was to say the least "baffling". The top court observed it was well settled if the accused was last seen with the deceased, particularly when the time gap between the last seen stage and occurrence of death was so short, the accused must offer a plausible explanation about how he parted his company with the deceased, and it must be satisfactory. While maintaining his conviction for the offences, including that of murder and under the provisions of the POCSO Act, the bench set aside the sentence of death for the offence under Section 302 (murder) and substituted it with the rigorous imprisonment for 25 years without remission. While partly allowing the appeal, the bench set aside the Rs 20,000 fine imposed on him by the trial court, considering his socio-economic condition.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/supreme-court-sets-aside-death-penalty-in-boys-sexual-assault-murder-case-7272399

Maharashtra - Cannibal who killed and ate his own mother has death sentence stayed by top court

India’s top court puts temporary stay on execution until case can be reviewed

Shweta Sharma

Wednesday 18 December 2024 03:32 EST

India’s top court put a temporary stay on the execution of a man convicted of killing his mother and eating her remains in what is being deemed as the “rarest of rare” cases of cannibalism.

Sunil Rama Kuchkoravi of western Maharashtra state’s Kolhapur district was handed a death penalty by a lower court in 2021 for killing his 63-year-old mother in 2017. The High Court in October this year upheld the death sentence against Kuchkoravi, stating that the convict possibly has a “syndrome of pathological cannibalism”. The court was told that Kuchkoravi murdered his mother Yallava Kuchkoravi on 28 August 2017 at their home and cooked her organs. The convict used to regularly pick quarrels with his mother, demanding money for buying alcohol.

In an 11 December hearing, the Supreme Court temporarily stayed the High Court and trial court sentences of the death penalty after it was challenged by the convict. Courts set the “rarest of the rare” standard to justify capital punishment in India. The panel of three Supreme Court judges, justices Surya Kant, Pankaj Mithal, and Ujjal Bhuyan, issued notice to the parties in the case to submit all the relevant documents and records for the review of the case. “The records of the trial court as well as the High Court along with translated version and soft copies of the same be requisitioned,” the order said.

The case will be heard next on 14 April 2025. Upholding the verdict in October, the High Court said: "The case falls under the rarest of rare category. The convict not only murdered his mother but he also removed her body parts – brain, heart, liver, kidney, intestine and was cooking them on a pan.” There is no chance of reformation of the convict as he has tendencies of cannibalism, the High Court added.

The incident came to light when an eight-year-old girl from the neighbourhood came into the house and found the body of the woman lying in a pool of blood. The son was also spotted with his hands and clothes soaked in blood. After the news spread in the village, a mob of outraged people thrashed him before a police officer arrived on the scene and rescued Kuchkoravi from being lynched. The officer Sanjay More, who rescued Kuchkoravi, told Times of India in an interview in October that he begged for his life with the promise of getting the capital punishment for him. “I still shudder to recall the brutal murder,” he said. 

Source: https://www.the-independent.com/asia/india/india-cannibal-mother-death-sentence-b2666227.html

West Bengal Man Gets Death Sentence For Minor's Rape And Murder

The sentence comes on the 61st day of the crime, and the investigation was completed and chargesheet submitted by the police in 21 days.

Dec 14, 2024

Kolkata: A Murshidabad court on Friday sentenced to death one person and awarded life imprisonment to another in the rape and murder of a minor girl and necrophilia in West Bengal's Farakka in October. The sentence comes on the 61st day of the crime, and the investigation was completed and chargesheet submitted by the police in 21 days.

The additional sessions judge, Jangipur court, sentenced Dinabandhu Halder to death and Subhojit Halder to life term. The court had on Thursday declared Dinabandhu guilty of rape and murder, and Subhojit of assisting him in the crime. Following the pronouncement of the sentence on Friday, Additional Director General (ADG), West Bengal Police, Supratim Sarkar said that Dinabandhu had lured the girl, offering her flowers on Vijaya Dashami on October 13 at Farakka in Murshidabad district.

Dinabandhu Halder | Source: TOI

She was raped and murdered, and rape was committed on her dead body again thereafter, which is termed necrophilia, by Dinabandhu and he was assisted in the crime by Subhojit, the officer told reporters. Mr Sarkar said that a special investigation team was formed to probe the case and following the arrest of the two persons, the chargesheet was submitted within 21 days. Hailing the sentence, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that every rapist deserves capital punishment.

"I have said this before, and I will say it again: Every rapist deserves nothing less than the harshest punishment — capital punishment. "As a society, we must unite to eradicate this heinous social malice. I believe that swift, time-bound trials and punishments will serve as a powerful deterrent, sending a clear message that such crimes will not be tolerated," she said in a post on X. Congratulating the state police and those involved in the prosecution process, the CM said "my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim".

The sentence in the Farakka crime comes barely a week after another death sentence awarded to a man for the rape and murder of a 10-year old girl at Joynagar in South 24 Parganas district. The death sentence to Mostakin Sardar on December 6 was awarded by a sessions court on the 62nd day after the body of the girl was discovered on October 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/west-bengal-man-gets-death-sentence-for-minors-rape-and-murder-7244341

Telangana High Court Commutes Death Sentence of 62‑yr‑Old Rapist to life term

 Pinto Deepak | Dec 13, 2024

Key Facts & Summary — HC Commutes Death Sentence of 62‑yr‑Old Rapist

• Accused: Gafafar Ali, a 62‑year‑old migrant worker. The Times of India

• Location: Originally tried in Sangareddy district, Telangana. The Times of India

• Crime: In October 2023, Ali raped and killed a 5‑year‑old girl working at the same construction site where he was employed. He lured her with treats, gave her a drink laced with alcohol, took her to a nearby field, then committed the offence which led to her death. The Times of India

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Trial Court Sentence

• The Sangareddy Sessions Court convicted Ali and awarded him the death penalty, calling the crime a “rarest of rare” case. The Times of India

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High Court Decision

• A Division Bench of the Telangana High Court (Justice K. Surender and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti) upheld the conviction but commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. The Times of India

• The High Court’s reasoning included:

  • Ali’s age (62) and lack of prior criminal history.

  • The fact that the victim died from trauma and shock due to the rape, rather than a deliberate act to kill her afterward to destroy evidence.

  • Based on legal principles and Supreme Court directions on mitigation, the bench found that this did not qualify as a “rarest of rare” case warranting execution. The Times of India

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Terms of Imprisonment

• The High Court also ordered that Ali should not be eligible for premature release or remission before serving 30 years in prison and not eligible for parole for 15 years. The Times of India

---

Outcome

• Death sentence → Commuted to life imprisonment with strict non‑remission conditions. The Times of India

• The High Court confirmed guilt but concluded the death penalty was not appropriate under the legal standards. The Times of India

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/hc-commutes-death-sentence-of-62-yr-old-rapist-to-life-term/articleshow/116263262.cms

West Bengal - Court awards death sentence to man for killing wife, daughter

11 Dec 2024

Jalpaiguri: The Jalpaiguri Additional Sessions Court has sentenced a man to death for murdering his wife and daughter. On Tuesday, Third Court Judge Biplab Roy delivered the sentence, nearly two years after the crime. The accused, Lal Singh Oraon, was found guilty of killing his wife, Sakhi Oraon, and their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Mamta. Lal Singh Oraon and Sakhi Oraon lived with their two daughters and a son. Sakhi worked as a tea garden labourer at Looksan Tea Estate, while Lal Singh was unemployed and allegedly addicted to alcohol. He frequently abused his wife, demanding money for alcohol, leading to frequent domestic disputes.

Lal Singh Oraon

On March 27, 2023. a heated argument over money escalated. According to police reports, Lal Singh’s brother, Panna Lal Oraon, who lived in an adjacent room, heard distressing sounds late at night. Entering the room, he found Sakhi and Mamta lifeless in a pool of blood, while Lal Singh lay near the door with self-inflicted injuries. Neighbours, alerted by Panna Lal’s screams, rushed to the scene and took Lal Singh to Shulkapada Rural Hospital before he was transferred to Jalpaiguri Medical College. Upon recovering from surgery, he was arrested following a complaint filed by his mother-in-law, Budni Oraon. Investigations revealed that Lal Singh had attacked his wife and daughter with an axe while they were asleep. He then attempted to stage the crime as a robbery, inflicting a stab wound on himself and falsely claiming intruders had killed his family. Public Prosecutor Prosenjit Deb stated, “There were 13 witnesses in this case, including the accused’s brother, Panna Lal Oraon. Based on the evidence, the court sentenced Lal Singh Oraon to death.” District Superintendent of Police Khandbahale Umesh Ganpath commended the swift action taken by authorities. “The accused was arrested soon after the incident. Investigating Officer Jyotish Chandra Barman conducted a thorough investigation and promptly filed the charge sheet.” “Justice has been served. He should immediately be hung,” stated Budni Oraon.

Source: https://www.millenniumpost.in/nation/jalpaiguri-court-sentences-man-to-death-for-killing-wife-and-daughter-597454

Supreme Court Issues Landmark Guidelines on Death Penalty Executions and Mercy Petitions to Prevent Delay

The Court held that such delays violate the convict's right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.

By Sohail Khan | Updated: Dec 11, 2024, 20:25 IST

The Supreme Court of India on Monday 9th December 2024 issued significant guidelines aimed at preventing unnecessary delays in the execution of death sentences and the processing of mercy petitions. The ruling, made in the case of State of Maharashtra & Ors vs Pradeep Yashwant and Anr (Criminal Appeal No. 2831 of 2023), emphasized the importance of ensuring timely action to prevent prolonged uncertainty for death row convicts. The judgment, delivered by a bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih, underscored the psychological and physical distress caused by delays in carrying out the death sentence. The Court held that such delays violate the convict's right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.

The case centered around the tragic 2007 gang rape and murder of a 22-year-old Pune BPO employee, where the Bombay High Court had commuted the death sentences of two convicts, Pradeep Kokade and Purshottam Borate, to life imprisonment in 2019. The Supreme Court dismissed the State of Maharashtra's appeals challenging the commutation and focused instead on the broader issue of the delays in the execution of death sentences.

Key conclusions and directions in the judgment include:

1. Inordinate Delay in Execution: The Court held that undue and unexplained delays in executing a death sentence could entitle the convict to seek relief under Article 32 of the Constitution. The Court also stated that such delays could lead to the commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment, taking into account the agony caused by prolonged uncertainty.

2. Mercy Petitions: The Court recognized the importance of timely processing of mercy petitions. It issued specific directions to all States and Union Territories to establish dedicated cells within the Home or Prison Departments for processing mercy petitions efficiently and within a stipulated timeframe. The dedicated cell must be headed by a designated officer and supported by officials from the Law and Judiciary Department.

3. Duty of Sessions Courts: The Court mandated that the Sessions Court should act swiftly upon receiving confirmation of a death sentence. This includes issuing a notice to the Public Prosecutor and investigating agencies to ascertain the status of any pending appeals, review petitions, or mercy petitions. The Court also emphasized periodic monitoring of these proceedings to ensure that execution warrants are issued without unnecessary delays once all legal avenues are exhausted.

4. Specific Guidelines for Mercy Petitions: The Court ordered that the information required for processing mercy petitions, including the convict's criminal history, family background, economic condition, and the details of their imprisonment, should be gathered and sent promptly to the dedicated cell. The mercy petitions must be forwarded without delay to the offices of the President or Governor, depending on the jurisdiction.

5. Implementing the Judgment: The Supreme Court directed the Home Secretaries of State Governments and Union Territories to implement these guidelines within three months. It also ordered that the Registry of the Court send copies of the judgment to the relevant authorities for compliance and ensure that all Sessions Courts receive copies for proper execution.

This ruling highlights the Court's commitment to ensuring that justice is delivered in a timely manner, particularly in cases involving death penalty convictions. The guidelines aim to eliminate the undue psychological toll that delays impose on death row inmates and reinforce the need for strict adherence to legal timelines. Legal experts and activists have welcomed the judgment as a step toward upholding human dignity and constitutional rights, while urging the government to implement the directions expeditiously. With this ruling, the Supreme Court has firmly placed the onus on the authorities to ensure that the death penalty process is carried out efficiently and compassionately, safeguarding the rights of the convicts while upholding the rule of law. 

This decision also serves as a reminder to the executive to take timely action in cases where mercy petitions are involved, ensuring that the system functions without the delays that often lead to prolonged suffering for the accused. The next review for compliance of the directives will take place on March 17, 2025.

Source: https://udaipurtimes.com/news/sc-issues-landmark-guidelines-on-death-penalty-executions/cid15864298.htm

Bengal man gets death sentence for smothering wife with pillow

PTI - 11 December, 2024

Jalpaiguri (WB), Dec 11 (PTI) A court in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday sentenced a man to death for smothering his wife with a pillow around five years ago. Gopal Das killed his wife Lata in his in-laws’ place and hid the body in the septic tank of a neighbour in Bhaktinagar area of the district. Jalpaiguri district court’s additional third court judge Biplab Roy convicted Das of murdering Lata and pronounced capital punishment for him.

Altogether 18 witnesses were examined in the case. Rakesh Singh, DCP (East) of Siliguri Police Commissionerate, said Das killed his wife on April 19, 2019, and dumped the body in the septic tank of a neighbour. Police began an investigation after filing a case under Section 302 of the IPC (murder) and arrested the husband after a few days. PTI COR NN

Source: https://theprint.in/india/bengal-man-gets-death-sentence-for-smothering-wife-with-pillow/2398405/

Maharashtra - 27 years on, HC acquits man convicted in killing a family of four in Pune

The Bombay High Court acquitted former watchman Bhagwan Kale of murder charges after 30 years, citing insufficient evidence in a 1997 family killing case.

Dec 10, 2024 08:46 am IST

Prateem Rohanekar

MUMBAI/PUNE: After spending nearly three decades entangled in a murder case, a 50-year-old former watchman was acquitted by the Bombay High Court (HC) on Monday of charges related to the 1997 killings of a family of four in the affluent neighbourhood of Kalyani Nagar in Pune. The court overturned the death sentence handed to Bhagwan Kale, citing insufficient evidence to uphold the conviction.

A division bench comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande rejected the Pune sessions court’s December 2021 verdict, which had sentenced Kale to death for the murders of Ramesh Patil, 50, his wife Vijaya, 40, and their children, Pooja, 12, and Manjunath, 7. The family was brutally attacked just weeks after relocating from Hubli to Pune, and their bodies were discovered in chilling circumstances. The trial court had found Kale, then a watchman at Priston Town Society in Kalyani Nagar, guilty of orchestrating the crime along with his wife, Geetabai, and brother, Sahebrao Kale. The prosecution alleged that greed for money and valuables drove the trio to commit the murders and loot ₹42 lakh in cash along with gold and silver ornaments.

During the investigation, Kale escaped police custody and remained absconding until his capture in 2011. He was tried separately from Geetabai and Sahebrao, who were convicted earlier. In 2004, the Bombay High Court commuted Sahebrao’s death sentence to life imprisonment and upheld Geetabai’s life term. However, both later claimed to have been juveniles at the time of the crime, leading to their eventual release. The case against Bhagwan Kale relied heavily on circumstantial evidence. The trial court had described the murders as “heinous, barbaric, and inhuman,” noting that the victims were attacked with sharp weapons, including knives and iron rods. Ramesh and Pooja’s bodies were found in a drainage pipe, while Vijaya and Manjunath were discovered in a pool of blood in their bedroom. While overturning Kale’s death sentence, the HC observed that no conclusive case was made to confirm his guilt, ultimately acquitting him of charges including murder, robbery, and criminal trespass.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/27-years-on-hc-acquits-man-convicted-in-killing-a-family-of-four-in-pune-101733772527304.html

Maharashtra - BPO employee rape-murder: SC upholds Bombay HC order commuting convicts’ death penalty to life

09 December, 2024 10:15 pm IST

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) An inordinate delay in the execution of a death sentence has a dehumanising effect on the accused, the Supreme Court observed on Monday as it upheld a Bombay High Court order commuting the death penalty of two convicts in the 2007 Pune BPO employee gangrape and murder case to life term for 35 years.

Dismissing the appeal filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the Bombay High Court judgement, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Augustine George Masih said keeping a convict sentenced to death in suspense while considering his mercy petitions by the governor or the president for an inordinately long time is certainly agony for him/her. “The only conclusion in this case is that the delay is unexplained and inordinate. Therefore, it is impossible to find fault with the view taken by the high court that there was a violation of the rights of the convicts guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. “Therefore, the commutation of the death sentence to a fixed term sentence of thirty-five years by the high court cannot be faulted,” the bench said.

The top court said undue delay in issuing a warrant of execution can violate the rights of convicts under Article 21 of the Constitution and in this case, there is a delay in three stages. It said on July 10, 2015, the convicts filed mercy petitions addressed to the Maharashtra governor, which were rejected on March 29, 2016. “On June 1,1 2016, mercy petitions were addressed by the convicts to the President of India, which were rejected on May 26, 2017. This is the second part of the delay, and the third part of the delay started on June 19, 2017, when the superintendent of prison informed the sessions judge, Pune, about the rejection of mercy petitions by the president. “Ultimately, it was only on April 10, 2019, that the learned sessions court, Pune, issued the warrants for the execution of the death sentence,” the bench said.

Thus, from July 10, 2015, till April 10, 2019, time was consumed in deciding the mercy petitions filed before the governor and the president, and in issuing warrants for executing the death sentence, it added. The convicts — Purushottam Borate and Pradeep Kokade — were to be executed on June 24, 2019, but the high court said on June 21, 2019, the execution should not take place until further orders. The high court on July 29, 2019, allowed the convicts’ petitions to stay the execution of their death warrant. In its judgement, the top court said, the executive must promptly deal with the mercy petitions filed by the convicts of the death sentence. “In this case, the approach of the executive, and especially the state government, has been casual and negligent. Even the sessions court ought to have been pro-active. “When the delay from the date of filing of mercy petitions till the date of issue of a warrant of execution is inordinate and unexplained, the right of the convicts guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution is violated. This right must be upheld, and it is the duty of the Constitutional Courts to do so,” the bench said.

On November 1, 2007, a Wipro BPO employee, who was then 22 years old, got into the regular cab contracted by the company to report for her night duty in a Pune suburb. Cab driver Borate, accompanied by his friend Kokade, changed the route and took her to a remote place, where they raped her and strangled her with her ‘dupatta’. They also disfigured her face. The duo was convicted and awarded death penalty by a sessions court in March 2012 for kidnapping, raping and murdering the woman. In September 2012, the high court confirmed the punishment and the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2015. PTI PKS RHL

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

Gurugram: HC upholds death penalty to man in 3-year-old’s rape-murder case

Dec 07, 2024

By HT Correspondent, Chandigarh

The case was registered at the Sector-65 police station in Gurugram after dead body of a girl child was found near a temple on November 12, 2018

Terming the act as ‘monster like’, the Punjab and Haryana high court (A division bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma agreed with the reasoning) has confirmed death penalty awarded by a Gururgram court to a 29-year-old man in the rape and murder case of a three-year-old girl child in 2018.

The case was registered at the Sector-65 police station in Gurugram after dead body of a girl child was found near a temple on November 12, 2018. The girl was daughter of a migrant labourer who went missing a day before when her parents were out for work and she was at home with her two brothers and a sister. According to the FIR, the accused, Sunil, lured the girl and took her to a secluded spot where he committed rape and later killed the victim by smashing her head with a brick. The body was found on November 12 and accused was arrested from Jharkhand on November 19.

Police got initial leads from a CCTV footage in which the accused was seen going with the child towards a secluded area and then returning alone. The special POCSO court had sentenced Sunil to death under IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 AB (punishment for rape on a woman under twelve years of age) and Section 6 (aggravated assault ) of POCSO Act on February 21, 2024. The accused had challenged the conviction in the high court while state had filed appeal for confirmation of sentence. The court found that the DNA report had established that blood stains on the body of the victim and other swabs belonged to the convict. Also, he had given a signed confessional statement about the manner in which crime was committed, which matched with the nature of injuries inflicted upon the victim girl.

The court also took note of the fact that it was the convict who got recovered the weapons used in the crime It also took note of trial court observations, which describing the brutal nature of the case had said, “In view of barbarity of the offences committed by the convict, there is no reason to believe that he would be reformed and would not be a menace to the society. He does not deserve any mercy.” “Evidently, the instant case appertains to the gruesome murder of a girl child but after committing rape upon her. It exemplifies dehumanized and ‘monster-like’ conduct of the convict-appellant. As such, for the supra reasons, and, also for the well made reasons by the learned trial Judge concerned, .this court is coaxed to accept the murder reference,” the bench said while upholding the trial court judgment. The court directed that capital punishment be executed after the time of appeal against the judgment elapses.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/gurugram-hc-upholds-death-penalty-to-man-in-3-year-old-s-rape-murder-case-101733509627168.html

Punjab & Haryana High Court Awards Death Sentence To Accused In 3-Year-Old Girl Rape And Murder In Gurugram

By ETV Bharat English Team

Published: December 7, 2024

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has approved the death penalty in the case of rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in Gurugram. The court has also asked to call the executioner as soon as possible to hang the culprit.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court approved the death penalty for the accused of raping and then murdering a three-year-old girl in Gurugram in 2018. The court said that the heinous murder of the girl after raping her is an example of the demonic behaviour of the culprit. In the order, the High Court has asked the District Magistrate to immediately appoint an executioner as per the rules.

The division bench of Justice Suresh Thakur and Justice Sudipti Sharma agreed with the trial court’s decision in February. They said that this case is rare, and after considering the trial court's reasoning, they confirmed that the trial judge made the right decision by sentencing the person to death.

The High Court said in its 41-page order that this case related to the heinous murder of the girl after rape is an example of demonic conduct. It may be recalled that on November 12, 2018, the body of a three-year-old girl was found naked in a pool of blood on the road in Sector-65 of Gurugram. The accused was the neighbour of the victim, who killed the girl after raping her. Under the POCSO Act, the special court of Gurugram sentenced him to death on February 3, 2024. The accused had appealed in the High Court against the sentence.

Source: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!state/punjab-and-haryana-hc-awards-death-sentence-to-accused-in-3-year-old-girl-rape-and-murder-in-gurugram-enn24120705078

Mannar Jayanthi murder case: Court sentences husband to death

07 Dec 2024

Mavelikkara (Alappuzha): In a landmark verdict, a sessions court here sentenced a man to death for the brutal murder of his wife on Saturday. The verdict was pronounced by Judge VG Sreevidhya of the Additional District Sessions Court in Mavelikkara in the case involving the murder of a 39-year-old Jayanthi, hailing from Mannar, by her husband Kuttikrishnan (60).

Kuttikrishnan

Kuttikrishnan murdered his wife at their residence on April 2, 2004, at around 3 PM. According to the prosecution, Kuttikrishnan suspected his wife of cheating and killed her at her house in Alummoottil, Mannar, in front of their toddler. The prosecution detailed how Kuttikrishnan used a knife, a chisel, and a hammer to murder Jayanthi in a fit of rage. The day after the murder, Kuttikrishnan informed the Mannar police about his wife’s death. Subsequent investigations revealed his involvement in the murder. While initially arrested, he was later granted bail but went into hiding. In 2023, he was arrested again, leading to the conclusion of the long-pending case.

Source: Read more at: https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/crime/court-sentences-husband-to-wife-mannar-jayanthi-murder-case-8001e12e

Chhattisgarh HC commutes death sentence of man convicted of rape and murder of 7-year-old girl, says ‘convict belongs to backward community, reformation can’t be ruled out’

While acknowledging the intensity of the crime, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad also claimed that the case did not meet the stringent 'rarest of the rare' standard required for imposing death penalty as detailed by the Supreme Court.

5 December, 2024

On Wednesday, 4th December, the Chhattisgarh High Court overturned a man’s death sentence for kidnapping, sexually assaulting, and murdering a seven-year-old child in the year 2021. The court commuted the death sentence because the convict belongs to a backward community, saying that there is a chance of him being reformed. While acknowledging the intensity of the crime, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad also claimed that the case did not meet the stringent ‘rarest of the rare’ standard required for imposing death penalty as detailed by the Supreme Court. “These are the incriminating circumstances, but there is no evidence on record that the appellant cannot be reformed or rehabilitated as at the time of the offense he was aged about 29 years and he is a member of the Other Backward Class, thereby he belongs to the backward community and his chances of being reformed or rehabilitated cannot be ruled out,” the bench said.

On February 28th, 2021, the accused escorted the minor dead and her minor brother to a celebration after which he left the girl’s brother at the function and brought her along the railway track in Somni. The accused there had forced sexual intercourse with the minor following which he crushed her head with a huge stone. The accused then disposed of the dead body of the girl on the railway tracks to destroy evidence against him. However, the incident later came to the fore after which an FIR was lodged against the accused identified as Dipak Baghel. The police launched an investigation into the case and based on evidence found Baghel guilty of rape and murder. The accused was then charged by the trial court under sections 302, 201, 363, and 366 of the IPC read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act, and was awarded a death sentence by the court. The trial Court further sent the matter to the High Court under Section 366 of the CrPC for confirmation of the capital sentence. At the same time, the appellant filed an appeal under Section 374(2) of the CrPC, challenging the trial Court’s decision.

The High Court took into consideration all the evidence, DNA reports, and testimonies of the family of the victim and found the accused guilty of rape and murder. The court said, “Thus, after appreciating the entire ocular and medical evidence on record, we do not find any illegality in appreciation of oral, medical, and circumstantial evidence or arriving at a conclusion as to the guilt of the appellant by the trial Court warranting interference by this Court and we accordingly hereby confirm the conviction of the appellant recorded under Section 302 of the IPC.” However, it further heard on the capital punishment of the accused saying that the trial court had committed an error in sentencing the appellant to the extreme penalty of death on the very same day. “The trial Court has not taken into consideration the probability of the appellant being reformed and rehabilitated and has only taken into consideration the crime and the manner in which it was committed and has not given the effective opportunity of hearing on the question of sentence to the appellant. No evidence was brought on record on behalf of the prosecution to prove to the Court that the appellant cannot be reformed or rehabilitated, by producing material about his conduct in jail, and no opportunity of hearing was given to the appellant to produce evidence in that respect,” it observed.

The Court reviewed the report provided by the jail authorities, which highlighted the appellant’s typical behavior while in custody and denied his involvement in any jail offenses. Therefore, taking such report, the appellant’s age, and his social background into account, the Bench concluded, “Though it shocks the consciousness of the society at large, yet, in the facts and circumstances of the case, considering the young age of the appellant, upon thoughtful consideration, we are of the view that extreme sentence of the death penalty is not warranted in the facts and circumstances of the case. We are of the opinion that this is not the rarest of rare cases in which a major penalty of sentence of death awarded has to be confirmed.”

Source: https://www.opindia.com/2024/12/chhattisgarh-hc-commutes-death-sentence-of-man-convicted-of-rape-and-murder-of-7-year-old-girl-as-he-is-from-backward-caste/

'Lack of effective legal aid to lead to infringement of Article 21': Supreme Court acquits man in case for rape-murder of minor

By - Lawbeat News Desk & Salil Tiwari | 4 Dec 2024

The Supreme Court on December 2, 2024, acquitted a man in case of rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in 2009, holding that the lack of effective legal aid was tantamount to an infringement of the man's fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.

A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Augustine George Masih said it is the duty of the court to ensure that proper legal aid is provided to an accused, and it is also the duty of every Public Prosecutor to point out to the court the requirement of providing the accused with free legal aid to ensure that the trial is conducted fairly and lawfully. Supreme Court says no, "its a mirror reflection of Indian society" Court was dealing with an appeal filed by one Ashok against the Allahabad High Court's judgment, which had commuted his death penalty but directed that he would remain inside jail for the remainder of his life, subject to the exercise of powers regarding remission or clemency by the constitutional functionaries. Examining the matter, the bench took into consideration the lack of legal representation at an effective stage during the trial, non-compliance with requirements under Section 313 of the CrPC, among other issues, as reasons for acquittal.

At the stage of framing the charge, the appellant was not represented by an advocate. From June 8, 2011, the appellant never declined legal aid, the court pointed out. "We are surprised to note that the examination-in-chief of PW-1 (father of the victim) was allowed to be recorded without providing a legal aid counsel to the appellant, who was not represented by an advocate. If the examination-in-chief of a prosecution witness is recorded in the absence of the advocate for the accused, a very valuable right of objecting to the questions asked in the examination-in-chief is taken away. The accused is also deprived of the right to object to leading questions," the court said.

The bench opined that it would not be appropriate to comment on the capabilities of the two legal aid lawyers appointed in the case as they were not parties before it. However, it is sufficient to note that the cross-examination of the witnesses was not up to the mark. Some of the crucial questions that normally would have been put in the cross-examination were not asked, it added. The prosecution had claimed the victim and her seven-year-old cousin went to a tubewell to drink water, where the accused, who worked as an operator, committed the offence after forcibly taking the girl to a cabin.

The victim's father, after being informed about the incident, rushed to the place to find the accused and the body of the girl, but he did not apprehend the appellant. The conduct of not apprehending the appellant, though he was present, was unnatural, the court said. It held that the evidence of the child witness, the only eyewitness, could not be held to be of sterling quality, so it was unsafe to base a conviction solely on his testimony. Even otherwise, taking his testimony as correct, his evidence can, at the highest, be the evidence of the accused being last seen together with the victim, the bench held. In other respects, the bench found that the prosecution failed to prove that the recovery was from a particular place. "Thus, the evidence regarding recovery will have to be kept out of consideration. The recovery of the articles at the instance of the appellant is a very important circumstance in the chain of circumstances. However, this was not proved. Hence, the appellant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt could not be established", it opined. Referring to the examination of the accused under Section 313 of the CrPC, the court said that the material circumstances appearing in evidence against the appellant had not been put to him. "In a given case, the witnesses may have deposed in a language not known to the accused. In such a case, if the material circumstances appearing in evidence are not put to the accused and explained to the accused, in a language understood by him, it will cause prejudice to the accused," the bench said.

Examining the issue of whether this defect could be cured by remanding the matter to the trial court, the court said that considering the long passage of time, there was no option but to hold that the defect could not be cured at this stage. Even assuming that the evidence of PW-2 (cousin) can be believed, the appellant is entitled to acquittal on the ground of the failure to put incriminating material before him in his examination under Section 313 of the CrPC, the bench said. With regard to the issue of providing legal aid to the accused, the bench said, "Having perused the record of the case, we found a very disturbing feature. It is the failure of the state to provide timely legal aid to the appellant. The other issue is about the quality of legal aid. Apart from the provisions of Article 21 and Article 39A of the Constitution of India, the law on the issue of the right to legal aid has been evolved by this Court through its landmark decisions". In this regard, the bench cited Hussainara Khatoon (IV) v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar (1980), M.H. Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra (1978), and Anokhilal v. State of MP (2019), to emphasise that the right to get legal aid is a fundamental right of the accused, guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. Even under Section 303 of the CrPC, every accused has a right to be defended by a pleader of his choice. Sections 340 and 341 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 correspond to Sections 303 and 304 of the CrPC, the bench pointed out. The court also said if legal aid is provided only for the sake of providing it, it will serve no purpose. The accused is entitled to a legal aid advocate who has good knowledge of the law and experience in conducting trials in criminal cases, it asserted. The court allowed the appeal and set aside the High Court and the trial court's judgments. It also directed that a copy of the judgment be forwarded to all State Legal Services Authorities to enable them to take necessary measures. Case Title: Ashok Vs State of Uttar Pradesh

Source: https://lawbeat.in/supreme-court-judgments/lack-effective-legal-aid-lead-infringement-art-21-sc-acquits-man-rape-muder-child