Act brutal, but accused didn’t commit brutality: Madhya Pradesh HC commutes death penalty in rape case

According to the prosecution, the convict entered the complainant’s hut and requested a cot to sleep on. Later that night, he allegedly opened the gate of a nearby house where the victim and her parents was staying, abducted and raped her. Thereafter, he allegedly left the child in an unconscious state in a mango orchard, believing her to be dead.

The High Court was hearing a criminal appeal filed by the convict against a trial court judgment which found him guilty under Section 307 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.

The HC acknowledged that the aggravating circumstance of this case was the age of the victim and the convict. The bench stated, “There are aggravating circumstances that the victim was four years old and the rape was committed upon such a kid and offence was committed in such a way that the private part of the victim was torn and after committing the offence, the victim was thrown in the solitary place treating her that she had died.”

However, the bench also took note of the fact that the convict, aged 20, is uneducated and belongs to the tribal community and his parents never tried to give him education and did not take proper care of him. Therefore, he left his house and was earning, living and working in a restaurant, the court said.