Man Convicted Of Rape & Murder Of Child In Aluva Moves Kerala High Court Challenging Conviction & Death Penalty

Asafak Alam, who was the sole accused in the Aluva child murder case, has moved the Kerala High Court challenging the conviction for rape and murder as well as death sentence by the trial court.The death sentence has not yet been confirmed by the High Court and is pending consideration as DSR No. 3/2023.Alam, stated to be from Bihar, was accused of sexually abusing a five-year-old girl in Aluva, and for murdering her. He was arrested one day after incident, on 29.07.2023, and has been in custody since then.He was found guilty and convicted in 2023 by the Special POCSO Court judge for various offences including IPC Sections 366A(Procuration of minor girl), 364(kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 376(rape), 376AB(Punishment for rape on woman under twelve years of age), and 302(murder), among others as well as Section 5(i), (l), (m) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 77 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.In his appeal, Alam has challenged his sentence to be "harsh, excessive and unjustifiable". Another ground raised is that the trial court has conducted the trial with undue haste, within a period of 110 days from the registration of the FIR, depriving him of a fair and reasonable opportunity to defend his case.The appellant has also stated that the translator appointed by the trial court was biased against him. "In fact, in a media interview, the said translator herself publicly stated that the appellant "should be hanged and she is expecting a death sentence" Such a person cannot be considered a neutral or impartial interpreter, and her participation in the trial vitiates the entire proceedings," it is stated.He has raised 60 grounds in the appeal, including irregularities in the testimonies of witnesses, non-appreciation of medical evidence, issues in the investigation, failure to conduct proper forensic and chemical examinations, etc.The appellant has also filed petitions for suspending his sentence and for granting bail till the appeal is finally heard.The petition is moved by Advocates Sajju V. and Ajmal A.Case No: Crl.A. No. 1867/2025Case Title: Asafak Alam v. State of Kerala

Man Convicted Of Rape & Murder Of Child In Aluva Moves Kerala High Court Challenging Conviction & Death Penalty

K. Salma Jennath

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