HC commutes death sentence to 50-year jail in rape of 7-year-old girl in Kaithal

The girl, then aged seven years, seven months, and 23 days old on October 8, 2022, was allegedly lured and abducted by the convict, Pawan alias Moni

The Punjab and Haryana high court has commuted a death sentence to 50 years in jail in a case of the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl reported in Kaithal in 2022.

The HC observed that the time gap between her going missing and when she was last seen with the accused is so short that it can lead to no other inference except the involvement of the accused. (HT FILE)

“It is one of those rare cases where the line that separates the categories of the “rarest of rare” from “rare” is on the razor’s edge. The biggest challenge before this court is that when the death penalty is not imposed and when executive policies permit early release, how do we save the girls from the perverts who, after committing rape, kill them to destroy the evidence?,” the bench of justice Anoop Chitkara and justice RC Dimri observed, adding that the law and the judicial precedents permit the court to commute death to life till the end of natural life.

“However, we have to make a conscious decision by sending the underlying message that the irreparable of the two crimes was her murder. If the accused had not strangled her to death, medical science might have saved her life, and no one can rule out this possibility. To ensure that this pervert is not a risk to other girls, he must remain in prison till the sunset of his virility,” it added.

The girl, then aged seven years, seven months, and 23 days old on October 8, 2022, was allegedly lured and abducted by the convict, Pawan alias Moni (then 21). Taking advantage of her playing alone in the village, he took her to an isolated place, where he raped and throttled her to death before sprinkling petrol on her body and setting it on fire, leaving it partially burnt.

The next day, the villagers spotted a half-burnt body in a nearby jungle. She was identified by her parents. With the help of CCTV, the accused was arrested. Later, medical examination confirmed rape before the murder.

The HC observed that the time gap between her going missing and when she was last seen with the accused is so short that it can lead to no other inference except the involvement of the accused. It was established that the accused had taken the victim away, and the burden shifted to the accused to prove where he had left her after accompanying her. However, there is no such explanation, it added.

“The prosecution’s case is based on circumstantial evidence of the accused’s last-seen with the victim and also on the scientific evidence of the presence of the accused’s DNA in the biological material recovered...,” it said.

The court has now awarded a 50-year jail term to the convict and ₹50 lakh fine for the murder. Additional ₹23 lakh fine has been imposed on account of rape with 23-years imprisonment. The fine amount would be awarded as compensation to the victim’s family. The sentences would run concurrently.