Supreme Court Commutes Death Sentence Awarded To A Man Accused Of Rape And Murder Of A Three Year Old Girl Child

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of a man accused of rape and murder of a three year old girl child, considering his socio-economic background and the possibility of reform and rehabilitated. "It therefore cannot be said that there is no possibility of the appellant being reformed and rehabilitated foreclosing the alternative option of a lesser sentence and making imposition of death sentence imperative."A bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao, B.R. Gavai and B.V. Nagarathna upheld the conviction of the appellant (Lochan Shrivas), but commuted the death penalty on the consideration of the 'criminal test', which the Court asserted was conducted neither by the Trial Court nor the High Court. "The trial court as well as the High Court has only taken into consideration the crime but they have not taken into consideration the criminal, his state of mind, his socio economic background, etc." The Prosecution's Case In the morning of 24th February, 2016, when the complainant's 3-year old daughter (the deceased) went missing, she went to the Jutemill Police Station and lodged a missing report. In the wee hours of the next day, one Raju Khan informed the complainant that Lochan Shrivas (the appellant), a neighbour had offered to find her daughter by conducting a ritual. As promised Shrivas informed the complainant that her daughter was tied and kept in a sack near a pole, on the side of the road in Amlibhauna. On suspicion, Raju Khan informed the police about the same. Based on Shrivas's confession, the police recovered the blood soaked body of the deceased from inside the said sack. On the basis of the report of the complainant, FIR was lodged under Section 363 of IPC. The Trial Court convicted the appellant for offences punishable under Section 363, 366, 376(2)(i), 377, 201, 302 read with Section 376A of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act and by the same order, inter alia, sentenced him to death. The High Court dismissed the appeal preferred by Shrivas and confirmed the death penalty. Contentions raised by the Appellant Senior Advocate, Mr. Anand Grover appearing for Shrivas contended that though the prosecution's case was based on circumstantial evidence, it had failed to establish the chain of events pointing towards the guilt of the accused. He further submitted that recovery of the body of the deceased and her clothes were from an open place accessible to all. Moreover, the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports were also inconclusive. It was highlighted that the police had prior knowledge of the place from where the body was recovered. With respect to the circumstance of finding human blood on the nails of Shrivas, Mr. Anand submitted that they were cut by a barber and there was a delay in sending the sample to the Laboratory, which is enough reasons for the same to be of no use for establishing his guilt. Apart from these, Mr. Anand emphasised that Shrivas did not get effective representation. On top of that, the Trial Court had recorded its order of conviction and the award of sentence on the same day without providing him adequate opportunity of being heard. Furthermore, Mr. Anand pointed out that the Trial Court and the High Court had applied only the 'crime test', and not the 'criminal test' for the determination of death sentence. Contentions raised by the State Advocate, Mr. Nishanth Patil, appearing on behalf of the State, argued that the prosecution had established the case beyond reasonable doubt. He asserted that rape and murder committed by Shrivas were heinous offences, which warrants nothing short of death penalty. Analysis of the Court Circumstances should be conclusive in naturePlacing reliance on Hanumant, son of Govind Nargundkar v. State of Madhya Pradesh 1952 SCR 1091 and Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra (1984) 4 SCC 116, the Court reiterated the settled principle that when a conviction rests on circumstantial evidence, then the circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is drawn is to be fully established, without there being any probability of reaching a conclusion pointing towards the innocence of the accused. "The circumstances should be of a conclusive nature and tendency, and they should be such as to exclude every hypothesis, but the one proposed to be proved. There must be a chain of evidence so complete as not to leave any reasonable ground for a conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused, and it must be such as to show that within all human probabilities, the act must have been done by the accused." Circumstance relevant for considering the motive, preparation or subsequent conduct The Court was convinced that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution witnesses provided consistent testimonies regarding the ritual that was conducted by Shrivas and the fact that he told...

Supreme Court Commutes Death Sentence Awarded To A Man Accused Of Rape And Murder Of A Three Year Old Girl Child

Sohini Chowdhury

Tags