“Every Sinner Has A Future”: Orissa High Court Commutes Death Sentence Of Man Convicted By Trial Court For Rape & Murder Of 6-Yr-Old Girl

The Orissa High Court, on Monday, commuted the capital punishment awarded to a man who was convicted by the trial court for committing rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl in 2018.While sentencing him to life, the Division Bench of Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice Radha Krishna Pattanaik observed –“No material has been produced before us by the learned State counsel that there is no possibility of reformation and rehabilitation. 'Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future' - strikes a note of reformatory potential even in the most ghastly crime. Human endeavour should be to hate the sin and not the sinner. There is still life in life sentence and only death in death sentence.”Factual BackgroundOn April 21, 2018, during the evening hours, the minor victim girl was found missing from her home, for which her grand-father (the informant in the case) along with other family members and neighbourers tried to trace her out but in vain. Subsequently, after being informed by some men from the locality, the informant got to know that the victim was lying naked on the verandah of a school nearby. Upon getting such information, he rushed to the spot but found that the victim had already been shifted to the nearby hospital. As her health condition deteriorated, she was referred to the SCB Medical College & Hospital, Cuttack. However, after remaining in coma for a few days, she succumbed. The informant lodged the FIR and the investigation was carried out. After thorough investigation, it came to the light that before the victim was found in an injured condition, she came to the shop of a witness (P.W.7) being accompanied by the appellant. The witness deposed that the appellant bought some chocolates for the victim and took her towards the school.It was also revealed that the brother (P.W.13) of the victim as well as another witness (P.W.5) had also seen the appellant wandering near her before the incident. Upon completion of investigation, the charge-sheet was filed against the appellant.The trial Court formulated eight (8) circumstances which potentially implicated the appellant for the commission of the alleged crime. The Court also took into account the evidence of the doctor, scientific officer and the medical report to come to the irresistible conclusion that the victim was subjected to rape before she lost consciousness and went to the state of coma.Blood stains were also found from the shirt of the appellant which matched with that of the victim. Thus, the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Presiding Officer, Children's Court, Cuttack found the appellant guilty under Sections 302/376-AB/363 of the Indian Penal Code ('IPC') and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 ('the POCSO Act'). He was awarded death penalty for the offences under Sections 302 and 376-AB of the IPC.Decision Of High CourtEvidence of P.W.5 was assailed by the counsel for the appellant on the ground that despite having seen the appellant near the deceased just before the crime as he did not disclose the fact to the informant, his evidence should be discarded. However, the Court rejected such contention observing that:“The appellant was a co-villager and he was a family man having wife and children and there was nothing on record that the appellant had any criminal antecedents in the past or he was a licentious person and therefore, not to raise any suspicion against the appellant in connection with the missing of the deceased was very natural on the part of P.W.5.”The Court also examined the evidence of the minor brother of the victim who gave minute details of the incident in a vivid manner. After going through his statement, the Bench was of the opinion that the evidence of the child witness is trustworthy and can be relied upon. “After going through the evidence of P.W.13 and the manner in which he withstood the long gruelling cross-examination and gave minute details of the incident clearly indicates that he had attained a measure of mature understanding and there is no infirmity in his understanding of the facts perceived and his ability to narrate the same correctly.”The counsel for the appellant also contended that non-mentioning of the name of the appellant as a suspect in the FIR is fatal to the prosecution case. But the Court rejected this contention and observed:“…there was hardly any time on the part of P.W.4 to ascertain the appellant's role in the crime and therefore, non-mentioning of the name of the appellant as a suspect cannot be a ground to discard the evidence of P.W.7 and P.W.18.”It was also argued for the appellant that there was an undue delay in sending the copy of the FIR as well as the statements of the witnesses to the Court which was situated near the police station. The Court, however, did not accept such argument.“Mere delay in sending the statements of the witnesses already recorded to the Court while forwarding the accused would not make their evidence unacceptable...

“Every Sinner Has A Future”: Orissa High Court Commutes Death Sentence Of Man Convicted By Trial Court For Rape & Murder Of 6-Yr-Old Girl

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