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INDIA: SC ACQUITS DEATH ROW CONVICT FOR RAPE, MURDER, CRITICIZES LOWER COURTS FOR LACK OF SCRUTINY
September 29, 2022: "Court cannot make someone a victim of injustice to compensate for the injustice to the victim of a crime", the Supreme Court on 28 September 2022 said while acquitting a death row convict for the alleged rape and murder of a six-year-old.
The top court, which pulled up the Uttar Pradesh police for faulty investigation, also said by not conducting the investigation properly, the prosecution has done injustice to the family of the victim.
It said that when the offence is heinous, the Court is required to put the material evidence under higher scrutiny but the erroneous approach on the part of the Sessions Court and the High Court has led to the "poor man" being ordained to be dispatched to the gallows.
A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer, AS Bopanna, and V Ramasubramanian said that it cannot shy away from the fact that it is a ghastly case of rape and murder of a six-year-old child.
"By not conducting the investigation properly, the prosecution has done injustice to the family of the victim. By fixing culpability upon the appellant without any shred of evidence which will stand the scrutiny, the prosecution has done injustice to the appellant. Court cannot make someone, a victim of injustice, to compensate for the injustice to the victim of a crime", the bench said.
The top court passed the verdict on an appeal filed by a man called Chotkau who was convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 302 (murder) and 376 (rape) of the IPC and sentenced to death by the Sessions Court, which was also confirmed by the Allahabad High Court on a reference.
The bench said that this is a case where the convict is "so poor" that he could not afford to engage a lawyer even in the Sessions Court and after his repeated requests to the trial court, the service of an advocate was provided as amicus.
"In cases of such nature, the responsibility of the Court becomes more onerous. When we analyse the evidence with such a sense of responsibility, we are not convinced that the guilt of the appellant stood established beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, the appeals are allowed and the conviction and penalty are set aside. The appellant shall be released forthwith if not wanted in connection with any other case", the bench said.
The complaint at Police Station Ikauna alleged that at about 4 pm on 8 March 2021, Chotkua took his niece aged about 6 years under the pretext of showing dance and song performances on the occasion of the Holi Festival.
It said that when the girl did not return home, a search was conducted and it was found that Chotkua was not found in his house, but the dead body of the girl was found in the sugarcane field located on the southern side of the village. (Sources: PTI, 28/09/2022)
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