HC commutes death sentence in rape-murder case (Madhya Pradesh)

22 MAY 2019 Last Updated at 8:42 PM | SOURCE: PTI

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has commuted the death sentence of a man convicted for the rape and murder of his daughter to life imprisonment.

A division bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Anjuli Palo passed the order on Tuesday. A trial court in Bhopal had on December 22, 2018 sentenced the accused Afzal Khan to death for raping and murdering his 6-year-old daughter. When the case came up for confirmation of death sentence, the high court held that it did not fall in the "rarest of rare" category so as to warrant the capital punishment, government lawyer Som Mishra said.

The division bench, instead, sentenced him to life imprisonment with a minimum jail term of 30 years without remission, and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him, Mishra said. The incident had taken place on March 15, 2017. Khan raped his daughter and murdered her by hanging her from ceiling with a 'dupatta' before leaving for his shop. The probe revealed that he was suspicious of his wife's relationship with her former husband and wanted to take revenge, the government counsel said.

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/hc-commutes-death-sentence-in-rapemurder-case/1539743 (accessed on 30 May 2019)

Rape & Murder Of 3 Month Old Baby: SC Stays Death Penalty (Madhya Pradesh)

BY: LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK16 March 2019 5:34 PM

"The rape of a infant is nothing but a monstrous burial of her dignity in the darkness." (HC Observation) 

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, stayed death penalty imposed on a man convicted for rape and murder of a 3- month old infant. The bench comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, granted leave in the Special Leave Petition filed by Naveen @ Ajay against the Judgment of the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. In December 2018, the High Court bench comprising of Justice P.K. Jaiswal and Justice S.K. Awasthi had confirmed the conviction and sentence of Naveen @ Ajay recorded by the Trial Court. He was convicted under Section 363, 366A, 376 (A) (2) (i) (j) (k) (m), and 302 of the Indian Penal Code and also under Section 5 (m) (i) / 6 of the POCSO Act.

While confirming his death sentence, the bench at Indore had observed: "The rape of a infant is nothing but a monstrous burial of her dignity in the darkness. It is a crime against the holy body of a girl child and the soul of the society and such a crime is aggravated by the manner in which it has been committed. It was not committed by accused under any mental stress or emotional disturbance and it is difficult to comprehend that he would not commit such acts and would be reformed and rehabilitated. The act of the appellant / accused meets the test of "rarest of the rare case".

Last week, the same bench had stayed death penalty confirmed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in another case. In January, 2019, the Jabalpur bench of the High Court had confirmed death sentence of Rabbu alias Sarvesh under Sections 450, 376(2)(i), 376(D), 376(A) of IPC and Section 5(g)/6 of the POCSO Act. The prosecution case was that the accused, along with a juvenile co-accused, committed gang-rape on the girl and set her ablaze.

Source: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/sc-stays-death-penalty-143634 (accessed on 30 May 2019)

Death only when life term inadequate: Supreme Court

Amit Anand Choudhary

TNN | Mar 13, 2019, 03.34 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Holding that the death sentence should be awarded for heinous crimes only when life imprisonment appears to be wholly inadequate, the Supreme Court on Tuesday spared a man from the gallows and sentenced him to 25 years in jail for raping and killing a minor girl in 2015. A bench of Justices NV Ramana, M M Shantanagoudar and Indira Banerjee convicted a school bus driver who had raped and murdered the child in Jabalpur and refused to give credence to some discrepancies in the statement of witnesses. 

It said traditional dogmatic hypertechnical approach has to be replaced by a rational, realistic and genuine approach for administering justice in a criminal trial. The accused had taken the ground that there were procedural lapses on the part of police and his alleged confession, which led to the recovery of the victim’s body, was liable to be rejected as the panchnama was drawn at the police station and not at the spot from where the body was recovered. He said the prosecution’s case mainly rests on the last-seen circumstances, but the said circumstance has not been duly proved. 

Benefit of doubt must not be fanciful: SC

The court, however, rejected his plea and said there was sufficient evidence to prove his guilt and upheld the trial court and HC’s order of conviction. But the bench commuted the punishment to 25 years’ imprisonment without remission. “As has been well-settled, life imprisonment is the rule to which the death penalty is the exception. The death sentence must be imposed only when life imprisonment appears to be an altogether inappropriate punishment having regard to the relevant facts and circumstances of the crime,” the bench said. Rejecting the plea of the accused for granting him the benefit of the doubt, the bench said courts are not obliged to make efforts either to give latitude to the prosecution or loosely construe the law in favour of the accused. “In our considered opinion, all the circumstances relied upon by the prosecution are proved beyond reasonable doubt and consequently the chain of circumstances is so complete so as to not leave any doubt in the mind of the court that it is the accused and accused alone who committed the offence in question. 

It is worth reiterating that though certain discrepancies in the evidence and procedural lapses have been brought on the record, the same would not warrant giving the benefit of the doubt to the accused/appellant. It must be remembered that justice cannot be made sterile by exaggerated adherence to the rule of proof, inasmuch as the benefit of doubt given to an accused must always be reasonable, and not fanciful,” the bench said.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/death-only-when-life-term-inadequate-supreme-court/articleshowprint/68383740.cms (accessed 30 May 2019)

SC Commutes Death Penalty, Sentences Child Rapist To 25 Years Without Remission (Madhya Pradesh)

March 12, 2019

The Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of a man held guilty of committing rape of a five-year-old girl and then killing her in 2015 in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. The apex court has sentenced the man to 25 years in jail without remission.

Earlier, the trial court had sentenced Sachin Kumar Singhraha to death, which was upheld by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Challenging the orders, counsel for the Singhraha had contended that he was sentenced on the basis of circumstantial evidence and the police had failed to establish his guilt beyond doubt. He said the lower courts had not followed SC framed guidelines while awarding the death penalty.

In 2016, a bench headed by then CJI T S Thakur had stayed the death sentence.

—India Legal Bureau

Source: http://www.indialegallive.com/constitutional-law-news/supreme-court-news/sc-commutes-death-penalty-sentences-child-rapist-to-25-years-without-remission-61916 (accessed on 29 May 2019)

SC commutes death sentence for ‘unexplained delay’ in forwarding mercy petition

By India New England News

February 21, 2019

New Delhi– The Supreme Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence of a man who murdered his wife and five children after rapping the Madhya Pradesh government for it “unexplained” delay of four years in forwarding his mercy petition to the Centre, leading to almost five years in deciding it.

Jagdish was convicted and sentenced to death by the trial court and the capital punishment was confirmed by the state High Court and upheld by the top court on September 18, 2009. Commuting the death sentence while noting the brutal nature of the crime in which “6 innocent lives were lost”, the bench of Justice N.V.Ramana, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Indira Banerjee directed, “We direct that life imprisonment in this case shall mean the entire remaining life of the petitioner and he shall not be released till his death.” The order came on Jagdish’s review petition challenging the President’s rejection of his mercy petition on July 16, 2014, arguing that there was a delay of almost five years in deciding it and that itself was a ground for commuting the death sentence.

He had also sought the review of the apex court’s September 18, 2009 judgment upholding his death sentence. In its decision, the court cited the “unexplained delay of four years in forwarding the mercy petition by the state of Madhya Pradesh leading to delay of almost five years in deciding the mercy petition and the fact that the petitioner has been incarcerated for almost 14 years …” Taking a dim view of the way the Madhya Pradesh government acted, the court said, “We are constrained to observe that not only was there a long, inordinate and unexplained delay on the part of the state of Madhya Pradesh but to make matters worse, the state of Madhya Pradesh has not even cared to file any counter-affidavit in the writ petition even though notice was issued four years back on November 18, 2014 and service was effected within a month of issuance of notice.”

Observing that the delay in forwarding the petition was “totally unexplained” and the top court “cannot countenance” it, Justice Gupta, speaking for the bench, observed, “We are dealing here with the case of a person who has been sentenced to death. The mercy petition is the last hope of a person on death row. Every dawn will give rise to a new hope that his mercy petition may be accepted. By nightfall this hope also dies.” This court, the judgment said, has repeatedly held that in cases where death sentence has to be executed, it should be done as early as possible and if mercy petitions are not forwarded for four years and no explanation is submitted, “we cannot but hold that the delay is inordinate and unexplained.”

Observing that the death sentence is the exception and has to be pronounced in rarest of rare cases, the court said that it was of the view that “regardless of the brutal nature”, this crime was not a fit case for a death sentence. (IANS)

Source: https://indianewengland.com/2019/02/sc-commutes-death-sentence-for-unexplained-delay-in-forwarding-mercy-petition/ (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Man gets death sentence for killing woman, 4 minors (Madhya Pradesh)

20 MARCH 2019 Last Updated at 4:18 PM | SOURCE: PTI

Bhind, Mar 20 A man was awarded death sentence by a court here for killing five persons, including four children, in May 2016, after one of the victims saw him in an objectionable position with a woman. 

Second additional sessions judge M L Rathore of the court in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh Tuesday pronounced the punishment to Nitesh Dixit (29), terming the incident as "rarest of the rare". According to the prosecution, the convict and the woman, who was married and had children, were allegedly having an affair. On the intervening night of May 13-14, 2016, the woman gave sleeping pills to her daughter, two nieces and a nephew, who lived with her, before the man came to her residence in Bhind town.

But later, the woman's 13-year-old nephew saw the accused and her aunt in an objectionable position following which Dixit killed him by slitting his throat. He then also killed the woman (32), her 10-year-old daughter and the two nieces, aged 14 and 16 years. The woman's father-in-law informed the police about the incident. On the basis of scientific evidence, the police proved that Dixit killed all the five people mercilessly, the prosecution told the court. CORR MAS ADU GK RHL

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/man-gets-death-sentence-for-killing-woman-4-minors/1499925 (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Death penalty exception, life term is rule, says SC

J VENKATESAN

Published : Mar 21, 2019, 1:52 am IST

The death sentence must be imposed only when life imprisonment appears to be an altogether inappropriate punishment.

Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that life imprisonment is the rule, to which the death penalty is the exception. The death sentence must be imposed only when life imprisonment appears to be an altogether inappropriate punishment, having regard to the relevant facts and circumstances of the crime.

The apex court in a recent judgment said sentencing is a difficult task and often vexes the mind of the court, but where the option is between life imprisonment and a death sentence, if the court itself feels some difficulty in awarding one or the other, it is only appropriate that the lesser punishment be awarded.

A bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, M. Shantanagouder and Indira Banerjee said the courts are not obliged to make efforts either to give latitude to the prosecution or loosely construe the law in favour of the accused. The traditional dogmatic hyper technical approach has to be replaced by a rational, realistic and genuine approach for administering justice in a criminal trial. If a court finds it difficult to make a choice between death penalty and life imprisonment, it should opt for the lesser punishment.

In this case the appellant Sachin Kumar Singhraha was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh. He took the child to the school where his own daughter was studying, but the victim did not return home that day. He raped and killed her and dumped the body in a well. Both the trial and high courts slapped death sentence on him and he preferred the present appeal.

Disposing of the appeal, the Bench in its verdict said “he has committed a heinous offence in a premeditated manner. He not only abused the faith reposed in him by the parents but also exploited the innocence and helplessness of a child as young as five years of age. At the same time, we are not convinced that the probability of reform of the accused/appellant is low, in the absence of prior offending history and keeping in mind his overall conduct.”

Source: https://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/210319/death-penalty-exception-life-term-is-rule-says-sc.html (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Another rape death sentence commuted to life (SC - Madhya Pradesh)

written by Olav Albuquerque March 22, 2019 8:13 am

Although the collective conscience of three subordinate judges were so shocked that they awarded the death sentence to a drug addict who brutally raped and murdered a three-month-old infant on April 20, 2018, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court commuted it to life in jail. Never mind the ordinance amending the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenders Act (POCSO) which allowed the death sentence for such heinous crimes. That was just a cosmetic gimmick.

And never mind the fact that the Thomson Reuters Foundation ranked India as the most dangerous country for women, edging out Syria and Afghanistan for the top post because the Indian government allegedly did very little after the brutal rape and murder of Jyoti Singh or Nirbhaya in 2012. Now, the purpose of amending POCSO has been defeated by judicial interpretation.

The Supreme Court and 24 high courts have to uphold the legislative intention and policy but in several cases of men raping minor girls, the top court has protected the rights of the rapists rather than show sympathy for the victims who have very little rights under the law. After they are raped and burnt to death, they will remain forgotten forever.

The dastardly rape of the 3-month-infant in April 2018 so outraged Indore residents that they thrashed the brute outside the court after the verdict. The state bar council also asked its lawyers not to defend Navin Gadge, who was sentenced to death. But all this did not weigh with the Supreme Court judges who felt the death sentence was not warranted although the latest POCSO amendment allows death for such rapists. And so, another brute of a rapist has got a reprieve, thanks to the apex court.

The reasoning given by the Madhya Pradesh high court was not enough to rouse the conscience of a three-judge bench comprising CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S Andul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna. The Madhya Pradesh high court stated the rape of a infant was a “monstrous burial of her dignity in the darkness. It is a crime against the holy body of a girl child and the soul of the society and such a crime is aggravated by the manner in which it has been committed.

It was not committed by accused under any mental stress or emotional disturbance and it is difficult to comprehend that he would not commit such acts and would be reformed and rehabilitated. The act of the appellant / accused meets the test of “rarest of the rare case”.

The convict had abducted the infant in the wee hours of April 20, 2018 while she was fast asleep next to her mother. He had earlier fought with the infant’s grandmother for breaking his liquor bottle after he tried to force the old woman to consume liquor, perhaps with evil intentions.

When she refused to pay him for the broken bottle, he apparently planned his revenge by abducting her, raping her and brutally smashing her head. The crime got wide publicity which forced the trial court to pronounce the sentence within less than two months. But rather than being appreciated, the trial court’s efficiency got flak.

The point here is that India has not abolished the death penalty like some European countries which is why terrorists have been hung to death. But child rapists are as evil as terrorists and it is surprising that the same bench of the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of another rapist to life in jail on the ground that he could be reformed.

In the second case, in January, 2019, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh high court had confirmed the death sentence of Rabbu alias Sarvesh under various provisions of the POCSO Act. The prosecution case was the convict with a juvenile accomplice, brutally gangraped a 16-year-old girl who was studying for her SSC exam at home alone. He entered her house, raped and strangulated her with her underwear and set her on fire.

In February 2019, the Supreme Court again commuted to life term the death sentence awarded to one Jagdish for killing his wife and five children in cold blood in April 2009. The reason? “Unexplained delay” of four years by the Madhya Pradesh government in forwarding the mercy petition of the convict to the Union home ministry.

The apex court said there was a delay of almost five years in deciding the mercy petition as the state authorities did not send it to the home ministry for four years. A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana said that convict Jagdish had filed a mercy petition on October 13, 2009, but his plea was forwarded to the Union home ministry on October 15, 2013.

“The mercy petition is the last hope of a person on death row. Every dawn will give rise to a new hope that his mercy petition may be accepted. By night fall this hope also dies,” the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Indira Banerjee said.

“Keeping in view that the petitioner has been incarcerated for almost 14 years, we are of the view that regardless of the brutal nature of the crime, this is not a fit case where death sentence should be executed and we, accordingly, commute the death sentence to that of life,” the apex court said.

The dictum that the death penalty is awarded in the rarest of rare cases to heinous criminals without any hope of reform was laid down in Bachchan Singh’s case in 1980 when the Supreme Court dissected the constitutionality of the death sentence after studying voluminous reports of the British and Indian Law Commissions apart from the practice of other countries.

The apex court laid down that the high courts were given wide leeway to pronounce a life term or a death sentence in heinous crimes such as dacoity where murder has been committed, brutal murders without any hope of reforming the criminal. And so our judiciary continues to indulge in academic debates over the need to reform rapists and murderers while the parents of those little girls who were raped and murdered relive an unending torment for the rest of their lives.

Olav Abuquerque holds a PhD in law and is a journalist-cum-lawyer of the Bombay high court.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/another-rape-death-sentence-commuted-to-life/1486726 (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Rajwada rape: SC stay on death penalty

TNN | Mar 23, 2019, 10.08 AM IST

INDORE: Supreme Court has granted a stay on execution of death penalty to a man convicted of rape and murder of a three-month-old infant at Rajwada on April 20, 2018. The convict has moved two separate petitions before Apex court, one challenging the death sentence granted to him, while another is an appeal challenging the order by the high court and trial court convicting him of the rape and murder of the infant. 

Both the cases were heard by three judge bench of Chief Justice of India, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna on March 14. The order granting stay on the death sentence was delivered on March 20. Both the cases were filed on January 21. The plea on behalf of the convict has been moved by Delhi-based advocate Rajat Mittal. The next date of hearing of the two cases has been fixed on April 29, 2019.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/rajwada-rape-sc-stay-on-death-penalty/articleshowprint/68529794.cms (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Madhya Pradesh high court commutes death sentence

TNN | Mar 28, 2019, 04.26 AM IST

BHOPAL/JABALPUR: A division bench of MP high court on Tuesday commuted death sentence of a person to life imprisonment till death. He was held guilty for murder of his mother. The high court, however, held that crime of the convict was not among “rarest of the rare” and was caused by momentary anger. 

The trial court at Narsinghpur, while ordering the death sentence for the accused, had said that the brutality with which the accused Ashok Rajak, 23, killed his mother just because she woke him up from sleep made the crime “rarest of the rate” and it won’t be appropriate to show any mercy towards him because there was no possibility of him becoming an improved human being in course of time. 

The division bench of Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice A K Shrivastava, however, disagreed with the findings of sessions court and said the crime was more of impulsive in nature and not ‘rarest of the rare’ and reduced his sentence to life imprisonment till death.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/hc-commutes-death-sentence/articleshow/68605399.cms (accessed on 29 May 2019)

SC Stays Death Warrant Against Teacher Convicted For Rape Of 4 Year Old Student (Madhya Pradesh)

BY: PRABHATI NAYAK MISHRA15 Feb 2019 8:47 AM

A Special Bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on Friday stayed the execution of death penalty against a school teacher for raping a 4 year-old girl in June last year in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. 

The bench, also comprising justices L Nageswar Rao and Sanjiv Khanna stayed the "death warrant" issued by a Satna court on February 4 against Mahendra Singh Gond. The death penalty was scheduled to be executed on March 2 in Jabalpur jail. The girl was so brutally assaulted that she had to spend months in AIIMS-Delhi to get her intestines realigned. After raping her, the rapist had dumped her in a jungle thinking she was dead. Her family members found her in the wee hour by that time was found barely alive. The state government immediately had intervened and airlifted her to Delhi.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had on January 25 confirmed the death sentence awarded by the trial court to Gond. The trial court had convicted the school teacher on September 19, 2018 and had sentenced Gond to death under the recently-introduced Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 376(a)(b) (raping a minor under 12 years of age). This was probably the first case where a High court confirmed a death sentence under Section 376(AB) of the Indian Penal Code, which provides for death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 years of age. This provision was inserted into IPC last year, through Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018.

Source: https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/sc-stays-death-warrant-against-teacher-convicted-for-rape-of-4-year-old-student-142922 (Accessed on 19 February 2019)

Man gets death sentence for raping and killing 75-yr-old woman (Madhya Pradesh)

07 FEBRUARY 2019 Last Updated at 5:09 PM | SOURCE: PTI

Chhatarpur (MP), Feb 7 A special court in Madhya Pradesh has awarded death sentence to a 25-year-old man for raping and killing an elderly woman.

Special judge Naurin Nigam pronounced the sentence to the accused, Akhbar Khan, on Wednesday and termed the crime heinous. Khan had raped the 75-year-old woman when she was alone at her home in Chhatarpur city on February 21, 2017.

When she tried to resist his move, he inflicted injuries to her private parts following which she died on February 28, Madhya Pradesh Director General, Prosecution, Rajendra Kumar, said. The prosecution faced difficulty in proving the case as there was no eyewitness.

But the accused was nailed on the basis of scientific evidences, like samples collected from the woman's body which matched with the samples of the clothes worn by the accused while committing the crime. "This is the first capital punishment awarded to a person in a rape and murder case in MP in 2019. The prosecution team in Chhatarpur did its job in a professional manner," he claimed.

The accused was held guilty under Indian Penal Code Sections 450 (house-trespass in order to commit an offence), 376 (rape) and 302 (murder). The court has also imposed on him a fine of Rs 5,000, district prosecution officer S K Chaturvedi said. 

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/man-gets-death-sentence-for-raping-and-killing-75yrold-woman/1474206 (accessed on 11 February 2019) 

High Court confirms death sentence of child rapist (Madhya Pradesh)

Published: January 25, 2019 10:36 PM IST

Jabalpur, Jan 25 (PTI) The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday confirmed the death sentence awarded to a schoolteacher for raping a four-year-old girl in Satna district.

Confirming the death penalty of the convict, Mahendra Singh Gond, a division bench of justices P K Jaiswal and Anjuli Palo said the court should impose a punishment befitting the crime. Gond, a schoolteacher, was convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court in Satna district in September last year, government advocate Brahmadatt Singh said. The convict had appealed against the trial court judgment in the high court. 

The bench observed, “In the present scenario, where such crimes are continuously increasing, reformative ideas are totally ineffective. “Justice demands that the court should impose a punishment befitting the crime so that it reflects the public abhorrence of the crime.” It further said, “It could not be conceived from a person, who is performing the pious duty of a teacher, who is expected to nurture the character and morality in the children of the nation, to commit such kind of a heinous act which is tantamount to moral turpitude.” The trial court had sentenced Gond to death under the recently-introduced section 376(a)(b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The convict was also found guilty under IPC section 363 (kidnapping), for which he was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment, besides being fined Rs 5,000, Singh said. The incident had occurred on July 1, 2018 in Parasmaniya village when the convict had gone to meet the father of the girl, he added. Finding the girl sleeping alone in the courtyard of her house at night, he had taken her to a nearby field and raped her, the government advocate said. The girl was found in an unconscious state by her parents near the field the next morning, the counsel said. Subsequently, the father of the girl had lodged an FIR with the local police and Gond was arrested, he added.

This is published unedited from the PTI feed.

Source: https://www.india.com/news/agencies/mp-high-court-confirms-death-sentence-of-child-rapist-3543429/ (Accessed 07 February 2019)

Man gets double death penalty for killing, raping stepdaughter (Madhya Pradesh)

Dec 18, 2018, 08:02 AM IST 

A court Monday awarded double death sentence under different sections of the IPC to a man for raping and killing a five-year-old girl, who was the daughter of his wife from an earlier marriage.

The incident took place in April this year and the sessions court in Jaora town in the district pronounced the verdict. According to the prosecution, the 42-year-old man was sentenced by Additional Session Judge O P Bohra under sections 376 (A-B) and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for raping and murdering the girl. Last year, the Madhya Pradesh assembly passed a bill stipulating the death penalty as maximum punishment to those convicted for raping/gang-raping minors up to the age of 12 years.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the convict and awarded him five-year rigorous imprisonment under other sections of the IPC, deputy director (prosecution) S K Jain said. The man had raped the victim at their home after locking her mother in a room. He later beat up the victim resulting in her death, he said. The court convicted the man on the basis of the statement given by the victim's mother and evidence submitted by the police, he added.

Source: https://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-mp-man-gets-double-death-penalty-for-killing-raping-stepdaughter-2697396 (Accessed 25 December 2018)

POSCO court gives death for raping seven-year-old (Madhya Pradesh)

Tuesday, 11 December 2018 | Staff Reporter | Bhopal

With one more death sentence in 7-year-old girl child rape and murder case of Katni district, the total number of death sentences is 18 in the current year which is highest in any state in India and a record in history of MP Prosecution.

On Monday, Special Judge POSCO court Katni has given capital punishment to accused Kallu for abducting and murdering his neighbour‘s 7-year-old daughter. Incident occurred on June 5, 2018 in Katni district. The girl was playing outside her home when the accused had kidnapped the girl and raped her and murdered her with a knife. He disposed the body in plastic bag in dry well. FSL evidence proved presence of sperm in vaginal slide and DNA report matched blood stain of victim on clothes of accused.

Other circumstantial evidence also confirmed the case and chain of evidence was proved.This case is an example of excellent cooperation of Police investigation and MP Prosecution. Total number of capital punishment are 18 during 2018 out of which 15 cases are rape with girl child, one rape case with boy child and two in normal murder case. This is the highest number of capital punishment secured in a year in MP in entire history. No other State in India has secured 18 capital punishments in a year. In August, 2018 MP Prosecution secured capital punishment in 6 cases, July month 3 cases, one case in June and two cases in May.

Six capital punishments in one month in child rape cases is also a record in country. High court has already confirmed capital sentences in three cases and in three cases commuted sentence to life imprisonment. High court has not acquitted any case which is also a major success.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/state-editions/posco-court-gives-death-for-raping-seven-year-old.html (Accessed 25 December 2018)

With 17 death sentences, MP records highest in year (Madhya Pradesh)

Saturday, 01 December 2018 | Staff Reporter | Bhopal

With one more death sentence in murder case of MP, total number of death sentences are 17 in year 2018 which is highest in any State in India and a record in history of MP Prosecution.

On Friday, DJ court Mandsaur has given capital punishment to accused KL Meena for murdering his wife and two minor daughters. Incident occurred on June 16, 2018 in Mandsaur district. Total number of capital punishment are 17 during 2018 out of which 14 cases are of rape with girl child, one rape case with boy child and two in normal murder cases. This is the highest number of capital punishment secured in a year in MP in entire history. No other state in India has secured so many capital punishment.

In August 2018, Prosecution secured capital punishment in 6 cases, July month 3 cases, June 1 case and in May 2 cases . Six Capital punishment in one month in child rape cases is also a record in country. PM of India Narendra Modi has quoted and appreciated success story of MP Prosecution on three occasion. First in his speech from Red Fort on August 15 and second in Radio programme Man Ki Baat and third in Forensic science university convocation programme at Gandhinagar. The High court has already confirmed capital sentences in three cases and in three cases commuted sentence to life imprisonment. High court has not acquitted any case which is a big success. 

These capital sentences are excellent example of teamwork, commitment and focused approach of MP Prosecution. Credit of extra ordinary success goes to team MP Prosecution.

Source: https://www.dailypioneer.com/2018/state-editions/with-17-death-sentences--mp-records-highest-in-year.html (Accessed 25 December 2018)

High Court commutes rapist’s death sentence to life (Madhya Pradesh)

Written by Milind Ghatwai |Bhopal |Published: November 2, 2018 4:57:50 am 

Touheed Shoukat, accused of raping a three-year-old girl near Chhatarpur in April, was awarded the death penalty by the IV additional sessions judge, Chhatarpur, on August 6 after a speedy trial.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday commuted the death sentence awarded to a 19-year-old man charged with raping a minor, observing that it is not appropriate to award the death penalty in every case. Touheed Shoukat, accused of raping a three-year-old girl near Chhatarpur in April, was awarded the death penalty by the IV additional sessions judge, Chhatarpur, on August 6 after a speedy trial. Shoukat’s father did not have money to engage a lawyer to defend his son. The court provided him an advocate under free legal aid, but the advocate could not even visit the scene of crime, more than 60 km from Chhatarpur, because he did not have money.

“To award death sentence, some factors like age of the culprit and manner of commission of offence and possibilities of reformation of the accused are necessary to be considered,” said the division bench of Justices S K Seth and Anjuly Palo, while deciding the criminal reference for the confirmation of death sentence.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/madhya-pradesh-high-court-commutes-rapists-death-sentence-to-life-5430360/ (Accessed 25 December 2018)

Man gets death sentence for raping, killing minor (Madhya Pradesh)

29 OCTOBER 2018 Last Updated at 8:27 PM | SOURCE: PTI

Raisen (MP), Oct 29 A Madhya Pradesh court on Monday awarded death sentence to a man for raping and killing a three-and-a-half-year-old girl, saying his barbaric crime showed that he even lacked sensitivities found in animals, according to the prosecution officer.

According to police, death sentence has been awarded in 14 cases involving minor victims in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, the highest number of capital punishments in child rape cases secured in a year in any state. Additional Session Judge of Gauharganj (Raisen district) Surekha Mishra convicted Jitendra Uike (24) here under IPC Sections 376 (A) (rape causing death) and 302 (murder) and sentenced him to death, prosecution officer Anil Kumar Tiwari said. He was also found guilty under other IPC sections as well as those of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he added.

Accordingt to Tiwari, while delivering the verdict, judge Mishra observed that "even animals don't behave in such a manner with those who love them, but the convict has committed barbaric crime with the daughter of his nearest relative, who gave him shelter in his home. "His action shows that he not only lacks human feelings but also is not having sensitivities found in animals." The prosecution officer said that Uike was a close relative of the victim, who used to call him "chacha" (paternal uncle). On August 13 this year, the accused picked up the victim from her grandparents' home on the pretext of dropping the minor at her father's home.

However, en route Uike raped and strangulated her and then dumped the body in the forest, he said. Director General (Public Prosecution) Rajendra Kumar said capital punishment was awarded in 16 cases during this year in MP. Of these, 14 cases were related to rape, one of sodomy, all involving minor victims, and another of murder, he informed. "This is the highest number of capital punishments secured in a year in the history of Madhya Pradesh. No other state in India has secured so many capital punishment in child rape cases," he said.

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/man-gets-death-sentence-for-raping-killing-minor-record-death-penalty-verdicts-in-child-rape-cases/1411871 (Accessed 25 December 2018)

HC confirms death for ice vendor for raping, killing girl (Madhya Pradesh)

Written by Milind Ghatwai |Bhopal |Published: October 27, 2018 2:04:24 am 

Noting that there were signs of forcible physical and sexual violence, the report called the death homicidal in nature.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has confirmed the death sentence given to a vendor of ice balls for the rape-murder of a six-year-old girl who was attending a wedding in Gwalior with her parents. The girl’s body was found near a community hall, the wedding venue, on June 21. Based on CCTV footage, which showed the girl following Jitendra Kushwah at 1.22 am and he returning alone at 2.48 am, the police arrested him.

According to the autopsy report, death was due to asphyxia as a result of combined effect of smothering and throttling. Noting that there were signs of forcible physical and sexual violence, the report called the death homicidal in nature. The 25-year-old was sentenced to death by a special (POCSO) court on July 27. Justices Sanjay Yadav and Vivek Agarwal heard the criminal reference (for confirmation of death sentence) and criminal appeal together and agreed with the prosecution that it was a rarest of rare case, while rejecting the appeal preferred by the accused against conviction and sentence.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hc-confirms-death-for-ice-vendor-for-raping-killing-girl-5420589/ (Accessed 25 December 2018)

HC commutes death penalty of rape convict (Madhya Pradesh)

Written by Milind Ghatwai |Bhopal |Published: October 27, 2018 2:00:30 am

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday commuted to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years the death sentence awarded to a rickshaw driver who was accused of penetrating a four-year-old girl with his finger after a five-day trial.

Rajkumar Kol, who drove the minor to school, was handed capital punishment on July 27 by a special (POCSO) court in Katni. The 33-year-old was arrested on July 7, three days after the incident, and the trial began on July 23. Between July 23 and July 2, 20 witnesses were examined while Rajkumar’s statement was recorded on July 26.

In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cited the five-day trial in Katni as a case that should be publicised so that people with demonic mentality get scared. A division bench of Chief Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla held that the act of the accused inserting a finger into the private part of the victim amounts to rape under Section 375 of IPC, but the manner in which the offence was committed was not barbaric and brutal.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hc-commutes-death-penalty-of-rape-convict-5420586/ (Accessed 25 December 2018)