25 May 2025
The Madhya Pradesh High Court commuted the death sentence of a man convicted of kidnapping and murdering his six-year-old nephew, sentencing him instead to life imprisonment till his natural death. The judgment was delivered by a division bench comprising Justice Vivek Agrawal and Justice Dev Narayan Mishra.
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| Justice Vivek Agrawal |
The case dates back to March 12, 2019, when the child, Shivkant Prajapati, a resident of Rahikvara village under the Nagod police station in Satna district, was kidnapped by his uncle, Anutav. During the incident, the co-accused Vibha alias Vidya Prajapati contacted the child’s family and demanded a ransom of ₹2 lakh.
The prosecution established that the uncle strangled the child to death. The Nagod trial court had earlier held the case to be among the “rarest of the rare” and awarded the death penalty to the uncle, while sentencing the co-accused woman to life imprisonment.
Justice Dev Narayan Mishra
The matter was later referred to the High Court for confirmation of the death sentence, and the convict also filed an appeal challenging the punishment. During the hearing, the High Court noted that the accused was 21 years old at the time of the offence and that the murder was committed for monetary gain.
After examining the facts, the High Court concluded that the case did not fall under the “rarest of the rare” category and accordingly commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment till natural death. The court also set aside the life sentence of the co-accused woman, citing a lack of sufficient evidence against her.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/hc-commutes-death-sentence-in-child-murder-case/articleshow/121385350.cms
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