3 spared death penalty over scope for reform in rape, murder case of minor Assam girls

The bench, therefore, answered the death sentence reference “in the negative”, adding, “The appropriate balance can be achieved by imposing life imprisonment for the remainder of the appellants’ natural lives rather than the death penalty.”

The case hinged on DNA evidence, which the bench underscored to note that it “cannot be overstated”. “We cannot conclude that the possibility of reformation is foreclosed merely by the brutality of the crime. The sentencing exercise must therefore be based upon evidence, not upon conjecture. The sentencing exercise must therefore be based upon evidence, not upon conjecture. The material before us does not permit such a conclusion. At the same time, the exceptional gravity of the offence requires that the sentence should adequately reflect the seriousness of the crime,” it said on September 10.

Noting further, the ruling held, “…this is a case where the appropriate balance can be achieved by imposing life imprisonment for the remainder of the appellants’ natural lives rather than the death penalty.”

Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury set aside the death sentence imposed on 3 men and substituted it with life imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives.

Rape, murder, staged suicide 

On June 11, 2021, the two minor girls, aged about 14 and 16, were found hanging from a tree in a jungle in Assam’s Kokrajhar district. On receiving the information, police swung into action and registered an unnatural death case and later an FIR for murder and criminal conspiracy. During the investigation, police arrested three accused men. The prosecution alleged that the men raped the girls, strangled them, and then hanged their bodies to make the deaths appear to be suicides.

The post-mortem found that both girls had died from manual strangulation and had suffered forcible sexual intercourse. DNA profiling connected the accused men with biological materials recovered from the bodies of the dead girls.

Since there was no direct eyewitness, the prosecution based its case on circumstantial evidence, call-detail records, and other investigative evidence. The trial court convicted all three and sentenced them to death in April 2022.

Advocate Azad Ahmed, appearing for the death row convicts, argued that the prosecution’s case rested entirely on circumstantial evidence and there was no eyewitness to the occurrence. He argued that the prosecution’s evidence had only disclosed their presence in the general vicinity and failed to establish that they were with the victims or that they were last seen together. 

The counsel contended the prosecution had failed to establish the integrity of the biological samples from the stage of collection till their examination. It was submitted that the evidence regarding collection and preservation of the blood and semen samples suffered from procedural deficiencies. 

As regards the Call Details Record and tower location evidence, the counsel argued that such evidence could not establish the accused men’s physical presence at the place of occurrence. 

From death sentence to life 

Advocate Sarfaraz Nawab, representing the family of the victims, argued that the finding becomes apparent when it is read with medical evidence. Medical evidence established sexual assault, and the DNA evidence identifies the biological contribution of the respective accused person, argued Nawaz. 

On the point of sentence, the state counsel submitted that the offence concerns the rape and murder of two minor girls and has caused immeasurable suffering to their family. The manner in which bodies were subsequently hanged aggravates the offence. It was submitted that the court, while considering the reference, must give due weight to the rights and sufferings of the victims and their family and to the need for a sentence proportionate to the gravity of the crime. 

The counsel further argued that the forensic evidence provides precisely the link that is ordinarily difficult to establish in a case where there is no eyewitness to the actual assault. Nawaz concluded his argument by submitting that the conviction recorded by the trial court calls for no interference and that reference for confirmation of the death sentence deserved to be considered in the light of the exceptionally grave circumstances of the crime.

The court noted that the two minor girls were subjected to sexual assault and thereafter killed by strangulation. The subsequent hanging of their bodies demonstrated an attempt to give the death the appearance of suicide. The nature of the crime was, therefore, stated to be undoubtedly grave.  It further added that the gravity of the crime was only one part of the sentencing exercise; the law required it to consider the circumstances of the crime as well as those of the criminal.