The Supreme Court on Tuesday commuted the death penalty of a man convicted for raping and killing a three-year-old girl in 2016 and considered the possibility of his reformation and rehabilitation. Commuting the death sentence of a Chhattisgarh resident to life imprisonment, a bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao maintained a speedy trial is desirable but sufficient time ought to have been given in this case to the counsel appearing for the accused to prepare for the defence.
The bench passed the order on an appeal filed by Lochan Srivas against the conviction and death penalty awarded to him by a trial court and further upheld by the high court in Chhattisgarh.
It noted that the trial judge passed the judgment and order of conviction on June 17, 2016 and awarded the death penalty the same day. The court said the convict was not a hardened criminal. 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, the bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and B V Nagarathna, said.
The apex court said the trial court as well as the high court only took into consideration the crime but not the criminal, his state of mind, his socioeconomic background etc. The appellant is a young person, who was 23 years old at the time of commission of the offence. He comes from a rural background. The state has not placed any evidence to show that there is no possibility with respect to reformation and the rehabilitation of the accused.
The court also took note of the affidavits filed by the convict’s younger brother and elder sister, who claimed he did well at school and made consistent efforts to bring the family out of poverty. The conduct of the appellant in the prison has been found to be satisfactory. There are no criminal antecedents. It is the first offence committed by the appellant. No doubt, a heinous one, it said.
In its order, the court also said sufficient time was not given to the counsel appearing for the accused to prepare the defence. We find that though a speedy trial is desirable, however, sufficient time ought to have been given to the counsel for the accused to prepare for the case after he was appointed, the apex court said. According to the prosecution, the victim and her family lived in same building as that of the convict.
On February 24, 2016 the girl went missing and the convict offered to find her. Later, he informed them that the child was tied and kept inside a sack in the bushes near a pole beside a road. On this, people got suspicious and informed the police. The police interrogated the appellant, who confessed to his crime before them. The body of victim, soaked in blood, was found in a sack near the bushes.
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