Palwal Court awards death sentence to convicts in Minor’s Rape & Murder case.

Palwal Court awards death sentence to convicts in Minor’s Rape & Murder case.

Recently the court of Prashant Rana, Learned Asst. Sessions Judge, Palwal has convicted the accused persons in a brutal rape and murder of 8 year old minor girl child and found that the act of convicts is brutal, grave, depraved and committed in a grotesque manner and after considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the learned court has awarded death sentence to both the convicts, subject to confirmation by Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court.

BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE

The minor who was aged about 8 year and 6 months has been brutally raped and murdered by the convicts who happens to be her neighbor. She was taken to the jowar field nearby her house and then raped by both convicts. After they raped her, her eyes have been blinded by burning them with beedi (cigarette). Thereafter, she has been murdered by strangulation which led to fracture in her thyroid cartilage. She is also subject to brutal torture as several contusion and bite marks were found on her body. Her body was found on the next date. The victim was deaf and dumb. Her parents are also mentally and physically specially abled. Her 2 siblings are also deaf and dumb.

CONTENTION OF COMPLAINANT

Learned Special Public Prosecutor appearing for the victim submitted that the victim was 9 years 8 months old, at the time of her gang-rape and murder by the convicts. She was deaf and dumb and also intellectually disabled. She suffered from multiple injuries, including fracture of neck and complete damage of the private parts. In view of the brutal nature of the crime, the present case belongs to the category of, rarest of rare. Death sentence is the only befitting punishment for the convicts. In this regard reliance has been placed on Mithu v. State of Punjab 1983(1) RCR (Criminal) 557 (SC), Bantu v. The State of U.P. 2008(3) RCR (Criminal) 909 (SC), Mukesh & Anr. v. State for NCT of Delhi & Ors. 2017(5) Scale 506 (SC) and Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab 1982(3) SCC 24 (SC). In view of the grave nature of the crime, the convicts be granted death penalty, as life imprisonment would an inadequate sentence.

CONTENTION OF CONVICTS

Learned Defence Counsels, submitted that the present case does not fall in the category of the rarest of the rare. The case is entirely based on circumstantial evidence. There is no direct evidence against the convicts. Convict Parasottam has already been abandoned by his family. Nobody from his family came to meet him in the prison, for the last 3 years. Convict Ajay is very young in age. He is only 19 years of age. Both the convicts have no criminal antecedents. They must be given a chance to reform themselves. In these circumstance, they be granted the minimum prescribed punishment. With these submissions, it was prayed that a lenient view may be taken while granting punishment to the convicts.

HON’BLE COURT’s OBSERVATIONS

At the outset learned ASJ gave due consideration to guiding principles as laid down by Hon’ble Supreme Court in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab 1982(3) SCC 24 (SC) and Machhi Singh and Others v. State of Punjab 1983 AIR 957 (SC) and considered the mitigating and aggravating circumstances and on comparison he found that the aggravating circumstances totally outweigh the mitigating circumstances..

He further observed that “Every life has equal sanctity irrespective of the nation, race, religion, caste, gender and age and the crime of rape is the most serious crime. It becomes yet graver when it is the gang-rape of a minor child, and it is gravest when the child is murdered, after gang-rape.”

Learned ASJ while dealing with contentions of convicts held that :-

“The case is based on scientific evidence, including forensic reports and DNA reports, which clearly implicate the convicts. Also it has been contended that the convicts are young in age. The convict Ajay is aged around 21-22 years and convict Parasottam is aged around 27 years. However, it is also to be seen that victim was aged 9 years and 8 months only. Hence, the age of the convicts does not mitigate their culpability. Both of them were adults at the time, when they committed the crime. They cannot be treated as Juveniles on account of their young age. Both had attained majority. It has also been submitted on behalf of the convicts that they must be given a chance of reforming themselves. However, the bestial manner in which they have committed the crime, shows that they may be a perpetual threat to the society. There is no reason to believe that such like offenders would be reformed and would refrain from repeating the crime”

And he found the present case as rarest of rare in nature.

Further he quoted the Dissenting verdict of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Suryakant in Ravi v. State of Maharashtra, 2019 SCC Online 1288 (SC) while explaining the legislative intent test and the test of trauma caused to the family of the victim.

Further he also placed reliance on Hon’ble Supreme Court’s verdict in a similar case :-

“18. It was held by The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Madan Gopal Kakkad v. Naval Dubey and Anr. 1992 SCR (2) 921 (SC), while granting death sentence to a convict, who committed rape of an 8 years old girl child

“JUSTICE DEMANDS, THE COURT AWARDS”

“Before parting with the judgment, with deep concern, we may point out that though all sexual assaults on female children are not reported and do not come to light yet there is an alarming and shocking increase of sexual offences committed on children. This is due to the reasons that children are ignorant of the act of rape and are not able to offer resistence and become easy prey for lusty brutes who display the unscrupulous, deceitful and insidious art of luring female children and young girls. Therefore, such offenders who are menace to the civilised society should be mercilessly and inexorably punished in the severest terms.

We feel that Judges who bear the Sword of Justice should not hesitate to use that sword with the utmost severity, to the full and to the end if the gravity of the offences so demand.”

He also placed reliance on Vasant Sampat Dupare v. State of Maharashtra, (2017) 6 SCC 631 (SC)

Lastly before awarding death sentence learned ASJ observed that :-

“20. In the present case the convicts have acted in a most conniving and treacherous manner. They have betrayed the trust of a minor girl child, aged 9 years 8 months. She trusted them, being her elders of close neighbourhood. She was intellectually disabled, deaf and dumb. The convicts took all care to commit the barbaric acts of gang rape and murder of the child, in extreme secrecy, and in a preplanned and coldblooded manner. The crime was committed in the middle of a dense Jawaar field, outside the village. It was deliberately committed with a deaf and dumb minor girl,as she cannot speak the name of the offenders. Then her eyes were burnt after that, so that she is unable to identify them as offenders. Still, the convicts had doubts, that she might somehow convey their identities, so they strangulated and smothered her to death. The barbaric crime was done in such a manner, that nobody ever catches hold of them. However the evidence has established the guilt of the convicts without any pale of doubt, by way of DNA reports, blood reports and forensic reports.The semen of convict ajay was found on the body of victim and his DNA profile matched with the same.The clothes of the convict Parasottam were smeared with blood of victim. It was aptly said by the great poet, Iqbaal Azeem (1913-2000) that,

“Qatil ne kis safai se dhoi hai aasteen

Usko khabar nahi ki lahu bolta bhi hai”

He further quoted American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-1882) that,

“Though the mills of God grind slowly,

yet they grind exceeding small;

Though with patience He stands waiting,

with exactness grinds He all.”

Case title :- State Vs. Ajay and another

Case no. :- 166 of 13.10.2020

Order date :- 07.06.2023