Allahabad High Court Commutes Death Sentence Of Youth Accused Of Rape And Murder To Life Imprisonment

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court commuted the death sentence of a youth convicted for rape and murder to life imprisonment after taking into account that he does not have a criminal background and can be reformed.

The court heard the appeal against the death sentence and the execution reference and stated the person serving the sentence does not have a criminal background. "It cannot be said that he is not reformable and is a threat to the society. He should be given a chance to improve and rehabilitate", stated the judgment issued by a bench of Justice Rajiv Gupta and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra.

The convict from Firozabad was booked for raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl on March 17, 2019. It is alleged that the victim had gone to the neighborhood and disappeared. The villagers told the victim's mother that they had seen her daughter with the accused. On March 18, 2019, the victim's body was found in a farm. The trial court considered it a horrific incident. It is reported that the accused lured the victim to the farm on the pretext of giving her biscuits and raped her. After this, he killed her. The court pronounced a guilty verdict and sentenced him to death.

The order was challenged in the High Court. The appellant's counsel argued that the samples taken from the body of the victim for DNA testing were never sent for forensic examination. The victim was the convict's cousin, so there was no reason to commit such an atrocious act against her. Only the last time the victim was seen is evidence, which is not conclusive to convict an accused.

The public prosecutor argued that the victim was last seen with the accused. In such a situation, the accused is bound under the Evidence Act to state what happened to the victim after that. He failed to do so and thus it is a proper case of conviction.

The court held that once the fact of the last sighting was established by the evidence of the witnesses, the burden was on the accused to prove where and when he left the victim. The court said that he failed to state it. Therefore, there is no error in the order of the trial court. Considering the case was based on the age of the accused and the circumstantial evidence of the last time they were seen together, the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

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