‘IQ 56, 9-year-old mental age’: 29-year-old escapes death penalty for child’s murder

“Taking into account the observations made in his various medical certificates including that he has a dangerous tendency to harming kids and teasing girls, we are of the considered opinion that the presence of the appellant in the civilized society would be extremely dangerous, specially to the small children and girls against whom he has certain propensity to harm, and thus, instead of capital sentence, we deem it properto award life imprisonment without remission, extending to the natural life of the appellant,” the court said on August 24.

The court also pointed out the negligence on the part of the police for not taking a single photograph of the scene of crime or the victim herself; depicting her injuries has been proved on record, and was also vital to prove the guilt of the accused. “We are sorry to note that there is no change in the methodology adopted by the police, and nobody is ready to take the responsibility of such failure, and all the efforts made by the courts in this regard have only fallen on deaf ears,” the court remarked.

The court said that it is surprising that despite having handled hundreds of such cases and knowing about thousands of them, the police has still not learnt its lesson.

Abduction and murder of seven-year-old

The case arose from the abduction and murder of a seven-year-old girl on September 23, 2022. According to the prosecution, the accused took the child to his house while she was playing outside. Her maternal grandmother allegedly followed him and witnessed him assaulting the child with a knife through the window.

The child suffered 29 stab and incised wounds. The trial court convicted the accused under Sections 363, 364, 342 and 302 of the IPC and Section 9(m)/10 of the POCSO Act, and awarded him the death penalty for murder. The matter therefore came before the high court as a death reference for confirmation, along with the accused’s appeal challenging his conviction.

Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Aman Mourya argued that the petitioner had a history of mental illness and intellectual disability, relying on medical records showing an IQ of 56, a reported mental age of nine years and behavioural problems.

It was further submitted that the conduct of the petitioner, though brutal and showing deprivation of mind, owing to his mental condition, is still not a case where he could be convicted and awarded capital sentence.

Representing the State, Deputy Advocate General, Sudeep Bhargava, opposed the plea and submitted that no case for interference is made out, as not only has the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt but the horrific nature of the offence where an innocent girl was brutally murdered by the petitioner.

Accused had brutally murdered the child: Order

The court also observed that the petitioner had not produced substantial material showing that she had previously attempted to seek or take custody of the children. In these circumstances, shifting the children from their established environment was not considered to be in their best interests.

The court held that the prosecution had proved the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt, relying on eyewitness testimony, CCTV footage and forensic evidence. The court found that the accused had brutally murdered the child by repeatedly stabbing and cutting her, and upheld his conviction under the IPC and POCSO Act.

On his mental illness defence, the court noted that the accused had a history of mental disorder, behavioural problems and intellectual impairment, but there was no evidence that he was experiencing an episode of insanity at the time of the offence. Therefore, Section 84 (act of a person of unsound mind) IPC could not be invoked to acquit him.

The court also criticised the police for unscientific and negligent investigation, particularly the failure to photograph the crime scene and the victim’s injuries and to properly collect blood samples. It directed police, in every such case, to photograph and place on record the crime scene, blood spots and injuries suffered by victims or deceased persons, to strengthen scientific investigation and assist courts in assessing the evidence.